Two Roads Diverge
by MizzMoris
Summary: Sora and Demyx are working hard to enjoy their sophomore year of College with their friends when a mysterious happening changes their lives forever and nothing is as it seems. Pairings: AkuDemy, SoraxRiku, RoxasxZexion
1. The First Day

**A/N: WOOT! story numba two! so, not sure how this turned out but I'm happy with it. When i gave this to my beta, the first thing she asked was does this have anything to do with Robert Frost and the answer is no. the title will make sense eventually. The school they go to is actually my sister's school so most of the layout is accurate, though some i have altered for my own nefarious purposes. *shifty eyes* The rating as of now is T but that may change, depends on what i feel like writing. well, that having been said... ONWARD! **

**Disclaimer: not mine... don't want to own it... this wouldn't be a fan-fiction then now would it?**

**Summary: Sora and Demyx are best friends enjoying their sophomore year at the University of Delaware along with their friends. But after a strange and mysterious happening, their world is turned upside down and nothing is as it seems. Pairings: AkuDemy, SoraxRiku, RoxasxZexion (maybe others)**

**enough lollygaging(sp?)... ENJOY!**

* * *

"What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. Wanna hang in the art wing?"

"Nah, too boring. How about the field house?"

"Sure. There's some cool stuff in there."

"Alright. Lets go."

"Do you think anyone is gonna show up?"

"I don't know; I sort of hope not. I feel bad when they do."

"Do you think we-"

"Stop it, all right. You think too much."

Cold, empty laughter echoes around them. "Yeah. I guess you're right"

"Of course I am."

* * *

Bright golden light filtered through the window into the bright room. The brunette boy sleeping in the blue covered bed blearily cracked his eyes open and stared up at his ceiling. Rubbing his eyes, Sora turned to his left to try and focus on the blonde boy sleeping in the bed across the room from him.

"Yo, Demyx! We have to wake up! We have to help the freshmen move in today."

Demyx grumbled and buried his head farther into his pillows. "Remind me again why we decided to be on the freshmen link crew?" he mumbled from somewhere beneath his bed sheets.

"Because Roxas is an incoming freshman this year and we have to help him. He's my baby brother!" Sora cried. He picked up one of his sky blue pillows and chucked it at his roommate and best friend. "Now hurry up and get dressed. We have to be at Rodney Hall in one hour!"

Demyx groaned loudly and threw the sheets off of him. "Fine! I'm up, I'm up. Now, are you going to let me shower first or do I have to go like I am?" He slouched out of bed and stumbled over to his closet and began rifling through his clothes to find something to wear on the hot summer day.

"You showered yesterday right? Like in the afternoon?" He heard a slight grunt of acknowledgement coming from the open closet. "Well, you are inevitably going to sweat having to haul all the freshmeats- I mean freshmen's stuff for them in the heat and humidity we've had all week, so why waste the soap and shower now if you can later?"

"But what about my hair?"

"What about it?"

Demyx pulled his head out of the closet and stared into Sora's eyes. "I have to style my hair! It's a part of who I am!"

"So just style it how you normally would," Sora said dryly hopping up from his bed and padding over to his own closet.

"That's easy for you to say! Your hair naturally looks good! I can't style my hair dirty!" For emphasis, Demyx ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair that lay limp against his head. He attempted to get it to stay standing up but it fell down each time.

"Dem," his companion sighed, "that's only because there is no gel in your hair at the moment and who are you trying to impress. They're freshmen. And it's their first day. They're too scared to even think about stuff like that."

"You had better be right about this," Demyx grumbled.

"Aren't I always?" Sora asked cheekily. Demyx just huffed and grabbed his clothes and other necessities from the closet and stalked of down the hall to the bathroom the south wing of Smyth Hall shared.

Twenty minutes later, the two boys were climbing into Demyx's car and heading down Main Street toward the freshman dorms. The streets of Delaware were crowed with lost and confused freshmeat families desperately trying to find their way around Newark.

"Want to take the shortcut around those new dorms?"

"Sure. I hate driving around all these new people. I swear one if them is going to have an accident and my car is going to be the victim."

Sora laughed. " Kay. I think the turn is right here."

Upon arriving at Rodney Hall, Demyx and Sora exchanged a look and cracked up. A few volunteers were already there, helping the overly stressed out students find the registration table so they could get their room assignments. It was absolutely hilarious! Demyx pulled onto the small patch of grass across from the building used as overflow parking. Together, the friends walked to the registration table on the far side of the building to sign in and pick up their volunteer nametags.

"Watch out for those noobs this year guys," their mutual friend Larxene said. The blonde beauty was working with her boyfriend, Marluxia, at the table. "They seem even more stupid than you guys were last year."

"Thanks Larx. You make us feel so loved," Sora smirked.

She just smirked and shoed the two boys off as she had to help another freshman.

The boys walked back to the front of the building where they would guide the noobs to their rooms and help haul all their junk. They had been there for maybe a minute tops when a lovely blonde woman made her way over to them.

"Is that my Sora?! How are you sweetie? Come give mommy a hug." Without waiting for a response, the woman pulled Sora into her chest and proceeded to hug the life right out of him. Demyx could barely contain his laughter. Yup, that was Sora's mom aright. The brunette refused to believe he was anything like his mother, but everyone else saw that he was the spitting image.

"Mom! Boobs- can't- breathe! Help!" Sora managed to squeak out. Actually, he was turning an amusing shade of purple, whether from embarrassment or lack of oxygen Demyx could not decide.

"Mom, maybe you should let him go before he dies and you have to shove all that love and attention onto me. You know that would be the end of the world."

At the sound of the new voice, Sora's mom, Meagan, released her hold on her eldest son and turned.

"Now Roxas, why would it be the end of the world if I was to do… lets say… this!" As her final words left her mouth, she grabbed her middle child and hugged_ him _hard to her chest as well, but adding a peck to his already red cheek.

"MOM!" he cried, struggling to get out of his grasp. "Please don't do that. I'm eighteen now, its just wrong!"

Meagan laughed as she released him and let him scowl and rub at his cheek to get all the mom germs off.

"Oh, hello Demyx! I didn't see you there," she said, finally turning and seeing Demyx, who she often referred to as a third son. Sora and Demyx had been best friends since preschool and they were rarely seen without each other. She ran towards him with open arms, ready to give him another one f her signature crushing hugs.

"Hi Meagan. Its good to see you too," he said as he hugged her back. Demyx didn't mind his embarrassing second mom. In fact, they often tag teamed to embarrass the rest of the Sinclair family. He had also been on a first name basis with both Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair for as long as he could remember. "It's been so long. What, a whole week and a half tomorrow?"

"Yes!" she cried, releasing him and throwing her hands in the air. She had always had a thing for dramatics, another thing she passed on to her eldest but he refused to accept. "I don't know how I will handle being away from my dear babies for a whole year!"

"Mom," Roxas said, clearly embarrassed by his mom's scene. "We live an hour and a half away. It's not all that far." He had just returned from his mom's car and set down an arms load of luggage. "Besides, shouldn't you be helping me unpack and then running over to Dickenson Hall to help Naminé get settled in?"

"Oh, you're right," she said, instantly brightening. "Your dad is over their with his car helping you sister unload her things. We only have a bit more here so I guess I'll finish up here then leave you with your brother." Her gaze fell back on said brother and best friend. "Well, what are you doing just standing there? Come do your job and help."

The boys laughed to themselves then raced to help. Within minutes, the large SUV was unloaded and Mrs. Sinclair was driving away towards Dickenson Hall.

Demyx turned to look at the large stack of boxes and large plastic containers in front of him. He was about to grab one when a sudden though popped into his brain.

"Why didn't they put you and Nam in the same Hall? You'd think that being twins they would put you near each other? For comfort if anything else."

"I dun know," he shrugged. "I guess they put me here 'cause of Sora and all. Naminé also has Kairi as her roommate so I don't think there will be any problems." Kairi was Naminé's best friend, much like Sora and Demyx. Though they hadn't been friends for nearly as long, their bond was just as strong.

"Really? I though she would have gone to college in another sate. Didn't she live in Delaware before she moved to Philly?" Demyx asked happily. He was quite fond of the quiet red haired girl. He was drawn to her, like she was a sad puppy in need of a home. Her family had moved from Wilmington, Delaware to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when Kairi and Naminé had been freshmen in high school. She had never fully disclosed the reason for their move, but if you ever mentioned it, she would get a sad look in her eyes and would get very quiet.

Roxas shook his head. "I heard them talking when we were getting her things out of Dad's truck. She said that she had some things to deal with at this school and she felt she had to come here." He picked up a rather large duffle bag in one hand and his laptop bag and backpack in the other. So, you gonna tell me where my room is?"

Sora rolled his eyes and grabbed the duffle from his brother. "You have to check in remember? They should have told you at Freshmen Orientation."

Roxas stared at him blankly then scowled. "Fine. Where is it?"

"Just around the back of the building. If you see an evil blonde chick with antennas and a bitchy attitude, you know you have the right place," Demyx said with a laugh. Roxas scowled again and jogged off to find the table. Minutes later, Roxas returned with a key and a paper to help him find the room and another to take notes on the condition of the room.

Sora grabbed the first paper from his hands as Roxas bent to pick the duffle back up again. "Room 106? That's good; you're on the first floor. A bit noisy at times but easy to get to." He grabbed a clear container filled with other personal belongings and he gestured for Demyx to grab another. Together, the three made their way to the back door. Roxas opened it for the others using his I.D. cards magnetic trace. His room was down the hall, around the corner and on the right, two doors down from the common room.

"Well, lets open the door and see my new home for the year." Roxas took out his keys and put them in the lock. Sora and Demyx exchanged looks, trying not to laugh. They had been in Rodney last year and, well, lets just say Rodney isn't the nicest or the biggest dorms at the school.

Roxas pushed the door open and stood in the doorway. His face went through about five different emotions in a span of two seconds.

"Damn. I knew single rooms were supposed to be small but I think this takes the cake."

"Well, Rodney is one of the oldest dorms on campus. What were you expecting?" Demyx wedged his way into the room and dumped Roxas' bags in the middle of the room and sat on his bed. "You are going to want to put stuff under your bed to make the most of the space. You got bed risers right?"

Sora nodded and answered for his brother. "Yeah. I told Mom it would be a good idea since we were here last year. That one," he said, pointing at Roxas, "didn't see the reason to get them, or the over the desk shelf thingy. He said it was to girly for him." He glanced at his brother with a smug look. "I'll bet now you're glad for it."

"Shut up." Roxas dumped his stuff next to his other belongings. "Well, lets go get the rest."

After twenty minutes of hard labor and much stuffing to get everything into the tiny room (the thing didn't even have a closet! Just an armoire!), all of Roxas' things were inside.

"Do you need our help to unpack or put things together or get you connected to the Internet?"

"Thanks Dem, but Dad said he would come back once he was done helping Naminé. You guys go help other poor guys." He started to get his clothes out of a suitcase and proceeded to try and find a decent place to put them.

"Okay bro. We'll see you later." Sora tripped over to his brother and gave him a hug. Roxas hugged him back then pushed him away.

"Well, get going."

"See yah!" Demyx called and together the two best friends left the room.

* * *

"Did you know today was freshmen move in day?"

"Nope. I guess it's easy to lose track of time here."

"I wonder…"

"What. You don't think she actually came here do you?"

"I guess not. That would be kind of silly of her. But I can't help but-"

"Snap out of it. Wishing does us no good."

"Can we at least check? She may have come."

A gust of cold wind blew past, like the earth was releasing a sigh at the skies.

"I guess. Just promise me you wont freak out when I'm right."

"Deal. But, who says you'll be right."

* * *

"I think that's the last of it." Demyx sighed and collapsed on the grass in next to his car. Sora fell down next to him and threw an arm over his eyes.

"_I_ think my arms are going to fall off. Why do freshmen have to bring so much stuff with them?"

"So, we brought just as much stuff. We just didn't have to haul five times as much stuff in one day."

"Can it Dem. If I want to rag of freshmen, let me rag on freshmen." He stood up and leaned down to help his friend up. "Hey, wanna meet up with Xigbar and Xaldin for some dinner. Or lunner, or whatever it is you call it in between lunch and dinner! They should have moved in by now."

Demyx took the hand offered to him and picked himself up. "Sure. Why don't you call them while we drive back to the dorm? I really need to shower."

"Fine," Sora grumbled. Demyx grinned and opened the car door. Sora got in the passenger side and pulled out his bright yellow cell phone. As Demyx wound his way back to Main Street, he could here Sora arguing with either of their two friends. Just as they were pulling up to their dorm, Sora grumbled and snapped his phone off.

"They can't make it," he grumbled. He opened his door and slammed the door shut, ignoring Demyx's indignant squawk that he was going to hurt his baby.

Demyx quickly locked the car and hurried to catch up with his angry friend. "Why? What're they doing?"

"Oh, something about a poker game with Luxord or something."

Demyx shrugged his shoulders as he opened the door to Smyth Hall. "Well, do you want to run and grab something then head over and check on Naminé and Kairi?" As they started down the hallway, the sound of newly moved in freshmen resounded through the hall as they reached their room.

Demyx looked Sora square in the eye. "I'm going to shower. You can do whatever but we are going to leave in an hour and a half. Got that?"

"Yup!" Sora chirped, back to his old chipper self. "I think I'm going to take a shower too." Demyx shrugged and together, the boys grabbed their shower necessities and walked down the hall.

An hour and twenty minutes later, Sora and Demyx traipsed out of their room and outside into the summer sun.

"Do you want to walk or drive?"

Sora ran a finger through his spiky chocolate colored hair, scrunching his face up as he thought. "Why don't we drive. We can go through the drive through of wherever we are going then we can head over to Dickenson."

"Okay, Stacey it is." Sora smiled as they walked over to Stacey, Demyx's car. Sora still couldn't believe that Demyx named all of his belongings, all of them having either ridiculous names, like Traffela Demetrius, or overly girly names like Amanda and Sophie or Clara.

They soon pulled out of the parking lot and headed off into Newark proper.

"Oh! Burger King! Can we go there Dem?" Sora was practically bouncing in his seat, eagerly pointing out the windshield to the Burger King down the street.

"Alright Sora, alright. Keep your pants on." Sora pulled his arm back but continued to bounce slightly in his seat. Demyx steered them into the drive through and they both placed their orders; each ordering a large sized Whopper and a Dr. Pepper.

"You spill any food in my car and I am dumping you out of the car while it's moving," Demyx said threateningly.

"Okay, don't worry. I wont spill any in your precious car."

Demyx grumbled about his friend's blatant disregard for the care of his car. They made their way over to Dickenson Hall, by way of Main Street. Conveniently, it was located not a five minutes walk from Rodney, so Sora was sure his brother would be fine if he ever needed his twin.

Sora looked over at Demyx with a mouth stuffed with fries. "Do you know where Nam's room is?"

Demyx stared blankly ahead for a minute and almost ran a stop sign. He looked at the short boy out of the corner of his eye as he slammed on the brakes. "Uh, I actually didn't think about that." He looked ahead then whipped his head around to look at his friend. "Hey! She's your sister. Why don't you know her room?"

"Well, you're as good as her brother," he countered. "You should know too."

"Why don't you just call her?"

"Why don't you?"

"Um, she's your blood sister and I'm driving you idiot!"

"Fine." While Demyx struggled to find a parking space, Sora was chatting happily to his youngest sibling. By the time Demyx found parking down the street, Sora was off the phone, mouthing a number over and over to himself.

"So where is she?"

Sora got out of the car and started to walk quickly down the street. "Room 325, building E."

Demyx smiled. "Alright, lets go check on our shared baby sister."

* * *

"Did you see her? Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yes, I saw her. I was there, remember?"

"Oh yeah. But I'm just so excited. I haven't seen her in so long."

"I know."

"I really miss everyone."

"I do too."

"Do you thin-"

"Stop it. Please stop. As much as you may believe someday we may get out of this, I don't think that's going to happen."

"Well, just because you wont, doesn't mean _I_ can't wish."

* * *

"I wonder if the double rooms in Dickenson are any better than Rodney. They were built around the same time, right?"

"I guess. Only Vexen was here last year and he spent all his time in our dorm, remember," Demyx said as they climbed the stairs to Edison's third floor. "Well, we'll find out soon. Her room's right down the hall." The two ran down the last length of the hall and came to a skidding halt in front of their door, on which Sora knocked three times. Shuffling sounds came from inside and soon the door opened to show a delicately pretty platinum blonde girl with big blue eyes.

"Sora!" she cried in a soft voice. She ran forward into his arms and the siblings hugged each other hard. She looked up and caught sigh of Demyx behind her brother. "Demyx! You're here too!" She released Sora and walked by to hug Demyx.

He laughed as he picked her up and twirled her around. "Hey Nam! How are you?"

"I'm good. How about you? Sora hasn't been bugging you too much has he?"

"Nah, we bug each other. We're like yin and yang, like lucky charms and that funny leprechaun guy, Oreos and milk, Tom and Jerry!"

"I'm sure," she laughed softly. "Why don't you guys come in? Kairi should be back soon. She was just checking something with out RA."

"Don't mind if I do." Demyx grabbed Sora by the arm and floated into the room, towing the brunette behind him. The small room was made from the same painted white cinder blocks as those in Rodney Hall. However, the girls had warmed it up with pictures of friends and places from home and had draped a warm orange cloth over the window, bathing the room in a soft orange hue. Their twin beds on opposite sides of the room were made up with pink and orange bed sets with light yellow accents.

"Your room looks good Nam. Better than I can say for Rox. He's probably still setting stuff up and he most likely wont do anything to make his room look nice if his place back home is any indication. " Sora sat down on what he assumed was his sisters bed, judging from the small little lion stuffed animal that was occupying her pillow; she always kept with her. Demyx followed and sat down next to him, pulling Naminé down in between them. She wrapped an arm around each of their waists.

"So," she said, snuggling into her brother's shoulder, " why did you guys come over? Certainly you didn't come over just to say hi."

Demyx shrugged. "We were going to hang with Xigbar and Xaldin, but they had some deal with Luxord so we left them. So then we decided we would get something to eat and come over here." He paused and looked around his as-good-as sister to Sora. "Why don't we show them around the campus?" He looked back at Naminé. "That way you can know where everything is!"

"I don't know. I can ask when Kairi gets back. But that would be great. Thanks." She closed her arms and pulled them both into a hug.

"Okay. Well, when Kairi gets back we'll…Kairi!" Demyx jumped up and raced to the door. A petit dark redheaded girl was standing stunned in the doorway. She was stiff for a moment then melted into his embrace. "How are you? Liking college life so far?"

Kairi giggled quietly as she pulled back from his hug. "Well, seeing as I have only been living college life for a few hours, I can't really say much."

Sora stood as she snuck past Demyx and into the room. "Hey Kairi. How've you been?" He pulled her into a gentle embrace that she quickly returned. Some people thought it was strange that the Sora was such good friends with his little sister's friends, but to them, it was perfectly normal; them as well as Demyx, made an odd family of sorts. They all cared for each other infinitely.

"I've been okay. What are you guys doing here anyway?" she asked, easing out of Sora's embrace and walking over to sit on her bed.

"We were coming to see if you and Nam wanted a tour of the campus, well the close by stuff anyway."

"Yeah," Demyx added. "That way, you wont be lost when your first class comes."

Kairi cast a glance at her light blonde roommate. "I guess that would be okay. Great actually."

"All right then, lets roll!"

The four linked arms as the girls locked the door to their room and ran down the stairs.

"To Stacey!" Demyx cried, pointing his finger to the sky.

"To Stacey!" the other three laughed after him. Arm in arm, (in arm in arm), the friends laughed and ran back to Demyx's car.

* * *

"Well you saw her. Can we go now?"

"No! I have to make sure she is okay."

"There is nothing you can do!"

"Where does it say that?! I have her back! And I'm not giving her up again!"

A crackling empty void filled the space his friend previously occupied.

"Wait! Come back. Look. I know you want to help her, but there is nothing you can do. I know you can hear me."

A hollow whistle of wind signaled his return.

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to try."

* * *

"Wow. The campus is a lot more confusing than I thought it was, what with all the random pathways and shortcuts. Thanks so much guys." The four had finished their tour and were currently seated on a bench under a shade tree. Naminé had been ecstatic and chatty the whole time, commenting every so often on the buildings and what shortcuts she would have to remember. Kairi, well, she had kept quiet for the most part, but was looking around anxiously when they had entered the main mall.

"Yeah. It takes some time to get used to, but you end up loving it anyway." Sora sat next to his sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Kairi sat down on his other side and Demyx sat down, ever so clumsily, on the ground at their feet.

"Why don't we all go get something to eat? There's a Chilies about twenty-five minutes away." Demyx was always hungry it seemed, and his growling stomach seemed to agree.

"What time is it anyways?" Sora asked, but not before his stomach could let out an enormous grumble of its own.

Kairi laughed and looked at her delicate silver watch. "Huh. It's around seven."

Naminé's blue eyes widened. "Wow. That tour must have been loner than we thought. Dinner sounds good." She shifted her gaze down to the blonde at her feet. "Demyx, what's the fastest way to get back to Stacey?"

"We can keep following this path around towards Anne Hall and then she's just parked along the street there. Shouldn't take that long."

"Great. Lets go."

The four stood and began the walk back to the car. A little ways down the tree-shaded walk, Demyx saw a small cross and headstone-like plaque in the bushes to the side.

"Hey, Sora. What's that?"

"I don't know. I never noticed it before."

Demyx jogged ahead of the group and knelt down to read the plaque. "Hey, its one of those 'in remembrance of' things that people put up, though this one looks like it was done professionally by the school board."

By now, the other three had caught up and were standing behind him.

"What's it say?" Sora inquired.

"It says, 'In honor of two young men who's lives were cruelly taken in a classroom shooting in 2004. Though the killer was never apprehended, the tragedy of these brave young men shall live forever in these walls and their memory, forever in our hearts.'"

"That's so sad," Naminé's quiet voice broke through. Does it have any names?"

"NO!"

All three looked at Kairi in shock. She was white as a sheet and silent tears were streaming down her face.

"Kai, what's wrong?" Naminé rushed to her friend's side and hugged her. The red head seemed to collapse in her arms.

Sora jerked his head around and looked at the plaque. There were no names.

"How did you know there wouldn't be any names?"

"We didn't want to announce to the world who they had been."

This shocked all three. We?

"Kairi, did you know them?" Naminé pushed the still sobbing girl away from her and looked her straight in the eyes. "Tell us. You can trust us."

Kairi seemed to shrink. Her eyes were filled with such immense pain none of them could even begin to comprehend. Her lips quivered as she struggled to hold back the tears threatening to fall over her shining eyes.

"Yes," she whispered, so quietly, the others could barely hear her. "They were both sophomores. One was named Riku. The other was Axel."

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. How did you know them?" She brought her arms around the other girl again as she had started to sob again, this time harder.

"Ax- Axel was… Axel was my brother! My brother was murdered four years ago!" she screamed. Kairi fell to the ground, dragging Naminé with her. She was sobbing, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. Demyx and Sora quickly ran to comfort her, each wrapping their arms around the girl the two had both come to love as a sister.

"He was my brother, and now I'll never see him again!"

The three friends could only sit there helplessly as their friend fell apart at the seams. All they could do was hold her and try to pass all their love for her through their actions, hoping they could somehow try and piece back together a heart shattered beyond repair.

* * *

**yay for chapter one! it is finished! well? what did yah think? being only my second fic published, i would love feedback to better my skills. Brownies to whoever reviews and flames will be used to bake them! XD**


	2. Welcome

**YAY chapter two is UP! a big shout out thanks to my first reviewer: AkuDemyfan! much luffles to you!**

**this chappy is dedicated to my bestie and beta mizzsheldon aka: Taylor! much luffles to her as well... also if their are any mistakes... this gives you permission from me to blame her. so, i wrote most of this chapter in my math class cuz lets face it, math is boring so if it makes so sense, i apologize. oh. yeah. can anyone tell me why the page break line is not working in the editing screen? if anyone can help me figure that out... idk, i will do something special for you, like write a oneshot just for you! please help... its annoying.**

**Disclaimer: not mine. (insert witty and funny comment here)**

**well, on with the akudemy goodness!!**

Chapter Two: Welcome

Demyx handed Kairi a warm mug of hot chocolate. She sniffed and gave him a wobbly smile as she accepted it. The four had gone back to the boys' room after the meltdown. She was sitting on Demyx's bed, her best friend sitting beside her with her arm around her clearly upset friend. Sora was standing next to his friend, at a loss of what to do. As Kairi sipped her drink, he became more and more uncomfortable with just standing there. Leaving Demyx's side, he sat nest to Kairi and looked her in the eyes.

"Kairi, can you tell us what happened? That way, we'll know what we can do to help. I hate seeing you like this."

Kairi sniffed again and leaned into Namine´'s hug. "I don't really want to talk about it."

This time Demyx stepped up. "We can't help you unless you tell us what's wrong. Sora isn't the only one who hates to see you sad, we all do. We all want to help."

"They're right, Kai. What happened to your brother and his friend? And why did you never tell me you even had a brother?"

The other girl shuddered and mumbled in a voice the others could barely hear. "It hurt to even think about him." She wrapped her arms around her middle and seemed to collapse into herself.

"Kairi, tell us what happened," Sora said softly. "You have kept this bottled up inside you for so long, it's eating you alive. Talking about it with us, people who care about you, will help you." The other two nodded in unison. Kairi looked at them through red, swollen eyes and saw her family; her friends who loved her so much they were willing to stop everything to make sure she was okay. She sighed. They had the right to know.

"Four years ago, my brother and his best friend were sophomores here. They were roommates and had most of their classes together and they were essentially inseparable." A small smile wormed its way onto her face as she fondly remembered her fiery brother.

"One day, around the end of the school year, they were with one of their professors in Anne Hall, getting extra help for an upcoming exam." Here her voice started to waver. "About an hour into the session, all the lights in the room went out and the auto-lock turned on all the doors. They were trapped. When they had heard a thumping sound from outside the room and could see a silhouette through the window on the door, they all got beneath their desks, but it was too late; the gunman had already seen them.

"He broke the door down and yelled at them all to come out and not to try anything funny. They never saw who it was. My brother came out first and told the gunman to take him and only him and to let the others go free. The man had only laughed and then he- he- he shot my brother." Kairi broke off with a gasp as she hunched forward, as though she had been shot and not her brother. Namine´ tightened her hold on the girl while Demyx and Sora just sat there stunned. Taking in a shuddering breath, Kairi continued.

"He only got shot in the stomach so he didn't die immediately. Riku jumped out from the desk and ran over to Axel to see if he was all right, but the man grabbed his arm and put the gun to his head. He, he pulled out a second gun and pointed it at my brother and said that if anyone moved, they were both going to be blown to bits. My br-brother looked up at him and shouted that he was never going to let him get away with this, that he would hunt him down and kill him himself if he hurt Riku. The man said that if he cared so much for his friend, then he should enjoy watching him die." Kairi drew in another shaky breath. She felt a lead weight slipping off her shoulders as she told the story for the first time. Feeling bolder, she rushed to finish the story.

"The man put his gun to Riku's head and shot him twice; once through each eye. He died instantly. The man turned to my brother and pointed the gun straight at him again. He said he would be waiting for my brother then shot him in the head. That's when he left."

Kairi's whole body seemed to crumble as she finished. She was crying again. Demyx took the mug of hot chocolate as it began to shake in her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Kai," he said. He placed the mug on the desk next to his bed and sat down again.

"Hoe do you know exactly what happened?" Sora asked. "If they both, well, died, how would you know what happened?"

"The teacher. He stayed under his desk the whole time." Kairi's hands clenched into tiny fists as her face contorted with unsuppressed rage. "The coward. He could have tried to save them. He could have called the police and that bastard could be behind bars now!" Her sobs were coming much faster now.

"Sweetie, it's okay. We're here now. We are here for you whenever you need us." Namine´'s quiet voice washed over them all like a warm blanket of protection.

"I know. Thank you all so much."

Demyx tapped his chin as he thought about what he had just heard. "So that's why you moved to Philly?"

"Yeah. We asked them not to air the story and the school just put up a small something up in memory of them. None of us knew what or where it was, I guess until now."

"So why come back her for college if it holds so many memories?"

"I was hoping I could find something to help piece the whole thing together." Kairi's eyes took on a dangerous glint. "I _will_ find the person who did this monstrosity. I will find him and when I do, he is going to pay."

..o

"That really messed her up didn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry you had to see her like that. It must have been hard on you"

"Since when has life without a soul ever been easy, Riku."

"I don't know Axel. But at least you know she is safe, and that the rest of your family is too. I- I don't know anything."

"I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll see them again."

"Thanks. So what are you going to do now?"

"I have no idea. Do you think she'd be able to see me?"

"I don't think any human can see a ghost Axel. It's just the way we are."

"Well, I'm going to try. There may be _some_ hope left."

"If you say so. Want to check out the old classroom and see if anything happens?"

"Sure. Maybe we can find a missing piece of the puzzle."

..o

"Wow. Can you believe that that guy was Kairi's brother? I guessed that something must have happened here for her to move and not want to talk about it, but I never thought that it would have been something like this." Demyx and Sora were back in their room. They had left the girls about an hour earlier. They had driven back to their dorm in complete silence, their minds preoccupied with what the heartbroken girl had just told them.

Sora looked over at Demyx. "I just can't believe she held that in for so long. Four years is a long time. And for them to not have caught the guy…" Sora drifted off. His hands clenched into fists. "I can't believe that teacher just sat there under the desk like a coward. He should have done something."

Demyx sat up from where he had been lying on his bed. "I agree that he should have at least tried to do something, but can you really blame him? I mean, I would have been scared shitless if that had happened to me. Come on; a random guy just shows up in your classroom and holds a gun up to your student's head. I would have been too scared to move."

"That doesn't mean he shouldn't have tried."

Demyx frowned. Sora was too stubborn for his own good. "Sora. Calm down. We can't do anything about it. We can just be there for Kai and that's what we are going to do. Come on. Lets go down to the mess and see if they have any snacks before we go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow."

"Alright." Still frowning, Sora got up and dragged Demyx after him. Even though Sora didn't get in a bad mood all that often, when he did, he stayed like that for a long time. Suddenly, he stopped and stared at Demyx. "Wait. Why do we have to get up early tomorrow?"

"Jeez, are you that slow, So? We have our first class tomorrow. At seven."

"What! Why do we have a class already? Tomorrow's Friday! Classes don't start 'till Monday. Plus, why the hell do we have a class at seven in the freaking morning?"

Demyx shook his head and pushed Sora forward. "Because out professor is an idiot and decided we needed this one day as an introduction. He doesn't want to waste the first day for such _'trivial things'_."

"Crap. It's our psych class isn't it?"

"Yup. That class is going to be torture. What with all the late nights and all nighters we're going to have to pull."

Ahead of them, a door opened and a black haired figure spilled out. He shook his head and looked at the two.

"Dem? So? That you guys?"

Demyx stopped and crossed his arms. "It's us Xaldin. What are you doing?"

"Is it really you two? Stop moving, can't tell." With a groan, Xaldin fell back and his head thumped heavily to the floor.

Sora shook his head. "We aren't moving Xald. Why on earth are you drunk? We have a class tomorrow." He knelt down and helped haul his friend to his feet.

"Lost a bet with Luxord. Had to drink a bottle of his strongest booze." Demyx rushed to help support him when he started to sway dangerously, his weight more than Sora could fully support by himself. Xaldin hiccupped loudly then flashed a goofy smile at Demyx. "Wait, you didn't say class did you? Silly Demyx. Classes aren't 'till Monday." Demyx looked around their dreadlocked friend at Sora and nodded his head to the room Xaldin had fallen out from. Sora nodded and together they dragged their drunken friend inside the room.

The only other occupant of the room was their other friend Luxord. The platinum blonde looked up from the cards in his hand and smirked at them.

"So you found him?"

Demyx grimaced. "What did you do to him? He's acting like he's been put on happy pills?"

"Oh, it was just an innocent game of rummy. He just lost."

Sora shook his head at the brit. "You know he sucks at cards Lux. He knows it too. I don't know why he even tried to beat you. So," he started, shifting his position under Xaldin's arm, "you two roomies this year?"

"Yup. Xigbar wanted to room with Xaldin but that would leave me with Saïx and I would really rather that not happen. He really isn't happy with me after the 'incident' last year. I'm scared he is going to murder me in my sleep. So I challenged Xiggy to a game of poker, winner takes all."

"And naturally you won." Sora shook his head. "And that whole deal with Saïx really is your fault so you deserve whatever he does to you."

"Drop it short stuff. We don't talk about that anymore."

Demyx tried to hide a laugh but utterly failed. "Are you by any chance referring to when you got Saïx crazy drunk and then told him he should steal Larxene's bra and pink underwear and dance around outside the building in them?"

"Shut up Demyx!"

It was too late. Sora was laughing now, so hard that he was causing Xaldin's limp body to shake. "Hey at least we found out she's a good fighter when she attempted to kill him. She made a good addition to our team." He slipped out from under is friend leaving Demyx to keep him upright. Still trying to control his laughter, Demyx dumped Xaldin on one of the beds then sat next to him.

"Speaking of our team, we have an early class tomorrow, remember?"

"Unfortunately. We should probably get to bed. Prof insisted that we switch to the oldest lecture hall. It's a damn hour away! He said, and I quote, 'We need an appropriate environment to review these studies'."

Demyx shook his head. "Thanks for the heads up. Come on So. We should probably head back then."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Then we'll get something in the morning. G'night Lux. Please don't kill Xaldin in his sleep."

"You have my word."

The two friends slowly made their way back to their room. They changed into their pajamas and climbed into bed.

"Demyx? Do you think anything exciting will happen this year?"

"I hope so."

"Me too." Sora flipped the lights and the room was plunged into darkness.

..o

"It was _him_ again wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Damnit Riku. I'm sick of him trying to get us. Do you think he'll ever give up?"

"I don't think so Axel."

"I can't believe he found the classroom. That used to be the only place we could go that he wasn't there."

"I know. It seems strange. More souls and shadows must be flocking to him, giving him more power."

"We have to stop this. I don't think it'll be long 'till he gets us too."

"Well, there's still one place he can't get to us."

"The clubhouse?"

"Yup."

"Are you insane! It's right by a portal! And we haven't been there in years! For all we know, he can go there too!"

"No, he couldn't be there. He can't go through portals without destroying any soul that is connected to the place and we're the only ones who are connected to it."

"Okay. But as for the classroom, I think we should avoid going there too much. The separation there is thinner and we cant have him breaking through."

"Its gets thinner every time right?"

"Right. Wait, I think he's coming. Lets go."

"Lead the way, pretty boy."

..o

_Bzz…bzz…bzz…_

Demyx groaned and dove under his blanket, pulling his pillow over his ears.

"Sora, alarm clock. Off. Now."

The sound of a fist connecting with the chunk of plastic resounded through the room. Demyx winced, hoping Sora didn't break the damn thing.

"Why, why oh _why_ did prof want to give us an early class?"

"I have no idea," Demyx grumbled as he pulled himself out of bed. He looked at the clock that had somehow survived the barrage with Sora's fist. 5:15. He groaned. "Come on Sora. If we want to grab something to eat, we have to leave in a half an hour."

"Are you serious." Sora squeezed his eyes shut then blearily opened them. He dragged himself out of bed and began rummaging through his closet.

Demyx nodded. As he pulled clothes out of his closet, he thought back to what Kairi had told them they day before. He wanted to help her, but he had no idea how.

"I'm going to the bathroom. See you in a few?"

Sora's voice broke Demyx out of his revere. "Yeah. I'll be heading there in a few." Demyx shook his head. 'Can't think about that right now. Focus Demyx, you have a class to worry about.'

With that, Demyx grabbed his clothes and other necessities and headed off to the bathroom.

..o

A half an hour later, Demyx was relying on the rumbling of the car engine to keep him awake as they sped down the street.

"Where do want to stop for some food?"

Sora looked away from the window and glanced at Demyx from the corner of his eye. "Why don't we run to Dunkin Doughnuts? I just want coffee and maybe a doughnut. Sound good?"

"Sounds good."

They lapsed into silence and the only sounds to be heard were the rumbling of the car and the buzz of surrounding traffic. Demyx looked straight out the windshield and again, his thoughts turned to Kairi. A frown worked its way across his face. How could she have held all that in? It must have been eating her from the inside and no one could help her because no one had known.

"How did she do it?"

He didn't realize he had said his thought out loud until Sora looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how Kairi survived keeping all that bottled up inside her and she was still a happy girl most of the time."

"I don't know. It would have been so much better for her if she told someone. They could have helped her." Demyx nodded in agreement and turned the power off in the car. The two walked up to the coffee shop and walked into the blessed air conditioning. The girl at the counter smiled at them as they placed their order; two black coffees. They both knew that they would need straight up caffeine to last through the morning. Demyx paid for their coffees and they exited the building.

As the two reached the car and climbed in, Sora turned to face Demyx.

"How long is this class supposed to be anyway?"

"No clue," Demyx shrugged as he turned the ignition. "Shouldn't be that bad. It's just going over some basics. Isn't Roxas going into the class too?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I told him some stuff about the program when I went home for break and he seemed interested in it. So he called it as his major. He may have this class, since its just a basics and equipment class, but I don't really know. I didn't get a chance to go over his schedule with him."

"That could be cool though. We need a few more people on our team and if he is in our class, he could be valuable because of your family bond."

"I guess. How may more people do we need anyway?"

"Um, lets see. We have us, Xaldin, Xigbar, Luxord, Larxene and Marly. So that's seven. Larx, Luxord and Marly are mostly background research so I think we need two more. I'm sure it wont be too hard to find two freshmen. Do you think your brother would be interested?"

"Probably. Prof said that the sooner you have a complete team, the sooner you can go into action. Rox said he would do anything to get in on action as fast as he could."

"Good. I hope everyone else woke up. It would stink if there were only a few people there."

"Yeah. I don't really want to be alone with him, as cool as he is he's still a bit creepy." Sora turned back to his window. They were entering a more rural part of Delaware, towards the few old buildings in the far back of the campus. Few people actually knew they existed. They had been some of the first buildings built, and their construction wasn't as great as some of the other halls so they were rarely used. "You _do_ know which building we are in right?"

"Course not. I plan on just going to the one with a bunch of scared freshmen hanging around outside."

"In that case, we'll never find it." Glowering, Sora turned back to his coffee. Demyx smirked and turned his focus back to driving. Sora was definitely not a morning person. He took a sip of his coffee and allowed his thoughts to wander.

The next thirty minutes of the drive passed without incident. Demyx was staring out the windshield; somewhat hunched over the wheel as he carefully maneuvered his car along the old dirt road leading to the hall. Sora had his eyes half open, looking like he was about to fall back asleep. The coffee hadn't helped one bit.

About five minutes from their destination, Demyx saw two figures running along the side of the road. One had bright red hair and the other had what appeared to be silver hair. Demyx shook Sora's shoulder to bring him back to reality. The brunette mumbled and glared at his best friend.

"What!"

Demyx pointed to the two running figures in front of them. They appeared to be running almost to smoothly and much to fast to be normal. "Do you think they are in our class? Maybe we should give them a lift."

Sora grumbled and slouched in his seat. "Do whatever you want."

Demyx shrugged and pushed the accelerator a bit more so as to catch up with the two. As they got closer, the figures moved to the middle of the road for some reason. A dark shadow had appeared out of nowhere next to them. Demyx's eyes widened and he shook Sora again.

"What!" he cried again, raising his arms.

"Look at that! See that shadow next to them! I just appeared out of nowhere!"

Sora frowned. "That's weird. Look at how dark it is."

Demyx nodded. The two became absorbed into the scene unfolding in front of them. The two figures seemed to be running away from the shadow, like they were scared of it. As Demyx and Sora got closer, they realized the two figures didn't look quite right. Almost like they had no substance, like they were an illusion.

They were so absorbed in what was unfolding in front of them, they didn't realize how close they were until Sora screamed in Demyx's ear that they were going to hit the two. Snapping back to reality. Demyx slammed on his breaks, but he was not fast enough. The care rammed straight into the two figures… or rather, right _through!_ The minute the car ghosted through the figures, they disappeared in whips, like their energy was slowly fading away. As they faded, so did the menacing looking shadow that had been following them.

The car slammed to a stop and Demyx turned to stare at Sora. Sora stared right back at him, his blue eyes huge.

"Did we just see what I think we saw?"

Demyx nodded. "We need to tell the professor."

Sora nodded and fell back in his seat as Demyx hit the accelerator, speeding down the road. Oh man, what a start to the school year."

..o

"Did we lose it?"

"I think so. Jeez, it's a good thing that car came by, or we would have been done for. It was starting to absorb our energy."

"Yeah. Didn't those two guys look familiar?"

"Now that you mention it, weren't they the same guys that were with your sister when she saw the memorial marker?"

"I think so. Man, I hope that Shadow didn't get a look at them, or else they are gonna be living in a nightmare for a while."

"Same here man. Do you think they could see us?"

"I don't know. That would be awesome if they could though. Then maybe they would have been able to help us."

"Yeah. Well, let's get to the hang out before that thing comes back with friends."

"Agreed."

..o

Demyx and Sora arrived at the small cluster of lecture halls at the stroke of seven. It seemed as though no one knew which building the class was to be held. A small gathering of people were hanging around in the small green in the center of the buildings.

Demyx and Sora exited the car and went in search of their team. They soon found them lounging under a tree.

"You guys will never believe what we saw on our way over here," Sora said excitedly as they neared them.

"I'm sure it was absolutely amazing," Larxene said sarcastically, standing up. "By the way, does this belong to you?" She reached around the side of the tree and pulled a sulking blonde into view. "With this head of horrible hair and outrageously blue eyes, I figured he was yours."

"If by yours you mean brother, you would be correct." Sora grabbed his brother's wrist and pulled him into a hug. "I thought you had this class."

"So what was this about something you saw?" Luxord inquired looking at Demyx.

"Oh yeah. Well, we were driving down the dirt road there and there were these two guys running along the side of the road a-"

"Really? Did you hit them? Which two guys? Where are they?" Marluxia interrupted, straining to see everyone that as gathered there, trying to find the mystery boys.

"No, well, yes, well would you let me finish? We were driving then all of the sudden this shadow thingy popped up and it started-"

"Welcome!" a voice boomed, cutting the rest of Demyx's sentence off. All the students turned to look at the largest of the buildings where a man stood in the double doors. A few returning students cheered for the man, and he waved them off. When the students quieted down, he continued.

"Good morning to you all. I am your Professor, Ansem De Borge." He made a sweeping gesture with his arms. "And welcome to Paranormal Psychology."

End Chapter Two

**well, thats the end of chapter two. did you like? please review. i want to improve and i love reading your comments on what you like or dislike. i honestly read them and go and change them. any spelling or grammar i would love to have pointed out! i just made cookies so cookies for you if you review! FLAMES WILL BE USED TO BAKE MORE COOKIES FOR THE NEXT UPDATE!**


	3. Much Ado About Everything

**Alrighty. chappy three! so, an early update for anyone who is reading this! i was bored and i already had this written a while ago so i just said, why not update! so here we are. this is probably going every which way and probably makes no sense but it made sense when i wrote it. so just pretend it makes any coherent sense.**

**Disclaimer: honestly, i have only written a few of these already and im sick of them! so this is going to last the rest of this story: I DO NOT OWN IT! NEVER WILL, NEVER HAVE AND DONT REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH!**

**now that we are done with the caps lock abuse... onward! enjoy if you so wish. **

Chapter Three: Much Ado About Everything

The room was buzzing with activity and chatter as the students waited for professor De Borge to start the class. Most of the students agreed it was extremely cliché that the paranormal psychology class was being held in one of the oldest buildings on the outskirts of the campus.

Demyx led the way to seats at the center front of the lecture hall. Because no one had used the room in decades, De Borge had been allowed to remodel it for his own nefarious purposes. So, instead of the regular theater seating like the other halls, the seats had been taken out and three tiers were put in. On each tier, three semi-circle, conference like tables that easily fit nine people, had been built. On a raised stage in the front of the room, there was a podium and behind that was a projector screen. A table was set up next to the podium and it was littered with a high tech laptop computer and other equipment; a few of which he recognized from his previous year.

When he looked back at his friends, He grinned when he saw Sora dragging Roxas along behind him and pulled him down into the seat in between him and Demyx.

"Guys, guess what! Roxas decided to be on our team!"

"Hey, that's great. Now we only need one more person and we can advance to the good stuff." Xaldin slapped a hand on the blondes back, in between his shoulder blades and sat next to Sora.

The blonde glared at the raven-haired man and reached back to rub his shoulder. Before he could send back a scathing retort, he was cut off by Mr. De Borge's booming voice.

"Everyone, please find a seat. If you are already on a team, please find a table and sit with them. If you are new and aren't on a team, please take a seat at the front left table."

As the other students already in teams settled into their seats, a group of eight freshmen made their way to the table beside Demyx's.

He felt his eyes being drawn toward a short, slate haired boy with piercing ice blue eyes as he took a seat close to Demyx. He had a serious look on his face, like he was deep in thought. The boy pulled up his sleeves and Demyx saw a black tattoo on the inside of his wrist. It was a triangle beneath three almond shaped ovals that over crossed in the middle. A small yet detailed pentagram was centered in the small gap formed by the interlocking ovals.

When Demyx focused back on the triangle, he saw it wasn't a solid line but a line of small, distinct script that didn't look like English. Before he could get a better look, the boy's eyes flashed dangerously at him and he jerked his sleeve back down.

Demyx looked up at him, shocked by his reaction. Stunned, he returned his focus back to Mr. De Borge.

"Good, everyone's settled. Now, I don't want to only be your professor, I want to be your friend and your guide on your tumultuous journey, so please just call me Ansem. Now, the paranormal is a very controversial subject. Most believe that we should stay away from it and not interfere." Ansem's gold eyes burned and he shook his head in disgust, his silver hair flying.

"However, I don't believe this to be true, and obviously neither do any of you or you wouldn't be here. Rather than exploit the supernatural and thus strip it of its mystery, I believe we are here to help and guide them to their respective after lives." He clapped his hands to bring the class's attention into sharper focus. "Now, most of you had the introductory course last year with me, however, it looks like nine of you are new. You must have taken the intro course at a community college last year."

A few heads at the left table nodded. Demyx saw the slate haired boys face slip from its serious façade and into a bored expression, as if he had heard it all before.

"Good, good. Now, I don't know how much you learned last year but we covered rudimentary equipment and skills along with some basics in psychology. Now, everyone in here is currently enrolled in psych so I wont really be spending too much time on that this year. For today, I want you all just to get reacquainted with your teams and if you are not on a team, you will be assigned one. As for the teams already formed and once your team _is_ formed, you may come up to the front and pick up this packet and begin reading." He lifted up a thick packet from the table then turned back to the rest of the class. "I want all teams to be formed at the end of the day so once you have your teams, please come see me. If you are new, please come up to the front. Get to it!"

Talking burst out throughout the entire room as Ansem clapped his hands. The eight at the left table slowly made their way up to the imposing figure that was their teacher. Demyx once again found his eyes wandering to the slate haired boy. He was fiddling with his right sleeve and mumbling something under his breath. He looked slightly nervous to Demyx, very different from before.

"…so I thought he should be on our team. Demyx thought it would be good since we have the whole sibling bond thing."

"What?" Demyx brought his head back to the group at the mention of his name.

"Oh, just filling the rest of the gang in on how little bro here got into our group."

"Got it. So, which of the other noobs do you guys think we'll get?"

"I don't know. That brunette chick looks cool. Though she looks kind of like a hippie. I don't think I want all that stuff in with our plans," Luxord said looking at one of the girls lined up in front of Ansem. He was doing the same thing he had done to all of them the previous year, the first year the class was available. He was looking them straight in the eye, then closing his eyes and breathing deeply as though focusing all his energy on the choice before him. He would then open his eyes and move to the next, deciding who they would work best with.

"I don't know. I kinda hope we get that shrimp with the dark hair. Looks kind of emo, no? He had this tattoo on his arm and it reminded me of a symbol I saw somewhere. Plus he looks smart and level headed, something we definitely need more of on this team," Demyx said, his gaze turning back to the boy in question.

Ansem seemed to have finished is task and he was now assigning groups. When he got to the slight boy, he smiled and pointed at their table. Looking slightly crestfallen and hopeful at the same time, he slowly made his way over.

"Looks like your going to get your wish mullet man," Xigbar laughed. He had some weird fascination with how strange Demyx's mull-hawk was and never let the dirty blonde live it down.

"You shut up about my hair," he hissed.

When he looked up, the boy was standing in front of their table, looking unsure of what to do.

Demyx lifted his fingers in a two-fingered salute. "Hey. Welcome to our humble little group. I'm Demyx. This is Roxas, Sora, Xaldin, Luxord, Xigbar, Marluxia and Larxene. And who might you be?"

"My name's Zexion," he said in a quiet yet surprisingly deep voice.

"Zexion what? No last name?"

"Demyx!" Sora cried, thwacking his friend on the arm. "Don't harass him! We're supposed to make him feel welcome."

"It's alright Sora. My name, or well my full name that is, is Zexion Silver."

Demyx spread his arms out wide and gestured to the seat next to him. "Well, Zexion Silver, welcome, again."

"Thanks." Zexion took the offered seat and sat. As he did, he rolled his sleeves up a bit, once again revealing his tattoo. This time it was Roxas who noticed it.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" He reached across Demyx and grabbed Zexion's wrist, pulling it towards him. Zexion's eyes widened and he nearly tipped out of his chair. His face took on a slight pink tinge, whether or not it was from anger or embarrassment was unknown.

"Look at the writing! What's it say?"

"It says, 'a mare, de pământ, foc şi de aer; mama cântă zeiţă; duce calea noastră, lumina noastră cale de; ghid-ne cu harul tău de economisire.'"

"That's so cool. What language is it? What's it mean?"

"Romanian. It means, the Sea, the Earth, Fire and Air; the Mother Goddess sings; Lead our path, light our way; guide us with Your saving Grace."

"Its like a poem. So, how do you know Romanian?"

I was born there and came here when I entered intermediate school."

"No way. I would never have guessed. You speak English really well."

"Thank you. I was raised knowing four languages. Greek, Romanian, Czech and English."

"Wow. Do you think you could teach me some?"

"I guess. We aren't really doing anything right now, why don't we start?"

"Alright! Hey Dem, do you think you could switch seats with me?"

"Sure," Demyx said, slightly shocked. Roxas was usually a quiet, stoic person, but somehow, this new kid was bringing out a light few had seen before. He looked at Sora who was looking at him with a matching look of disbelief. However, before either could expound on their thoughts, Ansem shattered the noise with a boom.

"Roxas! Roxas Sinclair? Are you or are you not present?"

"Roxas' face turned red as all faces rested on him. He slowly got up and clambered his way to the front.

"Yes sir?"

"Why did you not come up with the rest of the new students?"

"Well, I already joined Sora's group if that's okay?" Roxas said meekly. Come on. Ansem could be pretty damn intimidating when he wanted to.

"Oh. Good then. That's just where I was going to put you anyway, what with the sibling bond and all." He shooed a blushing Roxas back to his seat then spread his arms wide and called to the class. "Speaking of bonding, bond with your groups! Commence immediately!"

Once again chatter filled the room. Gossip, summer stories, anything really.

"Demyx, you never told us what happened on your way over here."

Demyx turned to Marluxia, who had a dark pink eyebrow raised.

"Huh, I guess I didn't. Well then, children, gather round." Everyone stopped and leaned in, waiting for anything to break the boredom of a morning class.

"So, me and Sora were driving down the dirt road that leads to this place when we saw these two guys running along the side of the road. And they weren't just running mind you, they looked like they were running from something. And, it was weird. It didn't even look like they were running, more like floating, but more of that later. So, we kept driving and following them, trying to catch them because at the time, we thought they were students trying to find the building. But then a few seconds later, they just swerved into the middle of the road and this black _thing_ just popped up next to them out of nowhere!" Demyx threw his hands up for emphasis. Before he could start up again, Sora cut him off.

"So I wasn't really paying attention right, but this was when Demyx really tried to wake me up. The two guys looked almost like they were fighting with this thing. Then, before we knew it, we were right on top of them, literally. We couldn't stop in time to Demyx just ran _through them! _And they just disappeared. Poof! Well, they were starting to disappear a bit before that but when we rammed into them, they just _poofed_!"

Seven pairs of eyes stared back at them; most of them astonished by what they had heard.

"You mean to tell me, you think you saw two spirits?" Xaldin asked shakily.

Demyx shook his head. "I don't think, I know."

Luxord grinned and brought his hands together. "Gentlemen, and lady, I do believe we have found the subject of out first team effort. We have to find out who they are and what happened to them."

"And how to get them to cross." Larxene added. "I'll talk to Ansem about it. Not everything, but just enough to see if he'll let us start something of this magnitude this early."

They all pulled out spiral notebooks to keep record of the case. They had Demyx tell the story again, but in as much detail as he could think of. What they looked like, how they moved, and what that shadow thing looked like as well. The entire team looked over their notes and made sure that they all had every detail.

"Ok, in order for us to make a good team, we all have to understand things about each other, that main thing, being how we all got into the paranormal. Why don't we start with you, Zexion, seeing as you are the newest member. How did you decide to get into the paranormal?"

"Its basically in my blood. My family has been dealing with all this sort of stuff for centuries. Its not like I can run away from it, even in I wanted to"

"Oh really. What are you, a warlock or something?" As though the thought of that being valid was laughable, a small giggle lay under her sarcastic remark.

Zexion's eyes flashed dangerously. "No actually. I am a member of the ancient House of Silver, Casa de Argint; one of the oldest and most powerful Wicca families in the world."

A stunned silence enveloped the table. Sora coughed and stammered, "You aren't serious right?"

"Does this look like I'm kidding?" Angrily, Zexion thrust his wrist over the table for the whole group to see. "See this, this is my family crest. The three ovals represent the three main family members in every family; Father, Mother, Child, Tată, Mamă, şi Copilului. The script surrounding it is a Wicca prayer of Protection written in the tongue of our Mother Land. Then there is the pentagram, a magic symbol you should all know, in the middle. I would never kid about something like this."

Demyx gently wrapped his fingers around the enraged freshman's wrist, looking him right in the eye. He had to calm the boy down. Admittedly, he didn't know too much about the religion or its practices, but he knew they could be dangerous; especially since he was apparently from a very strong family.

"Hey, Zexion. Calm down. We believe you. Larx didn't mean anything by that. We just want to get to know more about you. She didn't mean that she didn't believe you, right Larx?"

"Uh, sure. I was just kidding with you," she said shakily. She leaned into Marluxia's side, and he put a protective arm around his girlfriend.

Zexion just hardened his glare at the blonde girl. Slowly, he pulled his wrist back and slouched in his seat. "Fine then, I'll pretend I believe you. So, to be fair, why don't you all tell me how you got your start?"

Roxas stepped forward first. "To be honest, I didn't really have any interest in paranormal 'till a little bit into last year. I kept getting calls from Sora, telling me how interesting it was. So I did a little research and got interested in it. And, well, here I am."

Demyx went next. "I have always been interested in it. See, I've always been able to see spirits, ever since I was little. My mother and her mother were able to see them too, never really figured out why. I was never allowed to talk to them, I always had to tell my mother and she and my grandmother would deal with it. The ghosts always seemed so sad that I wanted to help them in any way I could so I decided to take paranormal courses."

"I got into it because of Dem here. We have been best friends since forever and I was always there when he dealt with spirits," Sora started. "So, naturally, I wanted to help them too and we applied here together."

Xaldin went next. "Me 'n Xigbar are in the same boat. We both have seen too much death to be curious as to whether there is life after death. Both of us were abandoned by our biological parents and adopted. We met in intermediate school and sought comfort from each other and eventually grew to be great friends."

"However," Xigbar interrupted, "When I entered high school, my mother was killed in a car crash and my father died from liver cancer. So, the child services decided to track my real mother down. They found her, but no dad. I was sent to live with her in Birchmont, Canada. But, she wasn't really 'mother material', which is why she probably gave me up. She went out drinking one night, and took me to a friend's house. She came and got me a few hours later to take me home and she was straight up drunk. On the way home, she swerved into oncoming traffic and was hit head on by a speeding car. She died instantly from the collision, I broke my neck. Our car had one of those On Star things that call 911 when you're in an accident so the paramedics got there and were able to resuscitate me. But, I almost died, and that pushed me over the edge. I wanted to be able to help other spirits who had suffered along with me; those who didn't get a second chance at life." He broke off his tale quietly, as though he was reliving his memories.

Xaldin found his voice again and picked up his story where he left off. "When Xigbar left, I sort of spiraled out of control. In the span of one year, the one year that Xiggy here was gone actually, I saw death three times, two of them were my own fault. When he left, I lost my only good friend. So I started doing drugs and drinking and doing anything to make me feel as normal as I could. One day, I just went too far and the results were catastrophic and it ripped my life apart. I was on shrooms I think, and helluva lot of them. The thing with hallucinogens, you never know what you're gonna get. I got a bad trip, worst one ever. I got it in my head that my dad was trying to kill me so I did the only logical thing in my brain, I shot him. I knew where he kept his hunting rifle because we went hunting often. I unlocked it and shot him right in the head. I didn't realize what I had done until the next day when the drugs wore off. It freaked me out when I saw him dead in the living room and when I knew that I had done it. My parents, especially my dad had always been so good to me. Knowing that I had killed him, made me go berserk."

He took a shuddering breath, showing just hard this was for him to tell. "I wanted to stop being a threat to my family so I did the only thing I could; I grabbed all the medicine in my mom's medicine cabinet and popped them all. My mom had been on a business trip and she came home from the airport about two minutes later. She came in, saw Dad dead and me dying and called the ambulance." His face sent stark white, making him look almost like a ghost. "She was so calm as they tried to save me. They were able to get the drugs out of my system and a few nights later, I was able to tell her what I did.

"She couldn't _believe_ that I had been the one to kill him. We had always been a really close family, most people thought we were biologically related. She told me that she couldn't deal with that when I told her. She said she was going to drive home for the night and talk to me in the morning. But, on the way home, she was hit by a drunk driver and died on the way back to the hospital. The paramedics said she was asking for me the whole time and that the last thing she said was she was sorry. That's haunted me forever and I wanted to try to find both of them to tell them that I was sorry for ruining everything. So I got into paranormal and decided that they had moved on to find each other and that I couldn't find them. But that didn't stop me. I didn't want anyone in the afterlife to have any regrets so I made it my mission to help them all."

His voice quivered and he fell silent. Everyone was captured by the moving story even though six of them had heard the story before and knew it wasn't over. The happy ending was waiting and Xigbar was the one to finish.

"I was sent to an orphanage in the states, in Springfield Pennsylvania actually. Imagine my surprise when I found out my roommate was none other than my best friend Xaldin. We were eventually both taken in by the same foster parents towards the beginning of our junior year and have been brothers ever since, both working towards a common goal."

"That's so sad," Roxas said quietly. He shook his head and looked at the tabletop.

"It's okay short stuff. It hurt a little then but we found our futures and we'll see them again." He looked at Luxord, Marly and Larxene. "Your turn guys."

"Our stories are all the same. So we don't waste time, I'll just tell the story for everyone." Larxene cleared her throat and looked around the table.

"None of us had a tragic beginning or a sixth sense or a best friend with a sixth sense. We grew up in our respective states as normal kids. But we all had one thing in common; we were _hooked_ on paranormal T.V. shows and movies. We all wanted to learn more and maybe even help families like that so we all applied here for the program because it is one of the few colleges that offer such a program and here we are."

She took a deep breath and stood up.

"Good. Now that that's all done, give me a note book and I'll take this to the boss man and see if we can get started."

"Are you sure that's a good idea Larx? We don't know much about this yet," Sora asked.

"That's what me, Marly, the brit and the two knuckle-heads are for. We research and you guys provide the manpower. Plus, if we want to use any equipment and have access to any old records we may need, we need Ansems approval."

"Alright. Go. Just don't be upset if he turns us down because it's so early. I mean, come on, it's the first class and school hasn't even officially started. Plus we just got two new members."

"Don't be such a worry wart Sora, you may become forever pessimistic," Larxene snickered as she sauntered over to the teacher.

Sora glowered as the rest of the table laughed. Demyx swallowed his laugh and turned to Zexion.

"So, there you have it., our histories. No one here will judge you by how you were raised. Its just that its not everyday you hear that your new team member is part of a Wiccan family. You have no idea how many people come to Ansem wanting access because they have "magical families". It's mostly a load of bull. All they want to do is make fun of us."

"I guess. It's just that a lot of people look down on it or confuse it with witchcraft and think we're evil. It was hard going through high school like that."

Roxas put a hand on his shoulder. "Most of us have had incidents where we have been prosecuted because of what we think or what we think we can do. That's really what brings us all together, where we have common ground. I know I'm just as new as you are, but with the way Sora would talk about his team, it was like he had a family away from his actual family that loves him just as much."

The ghost of a smile traced Zexion's lips as he turned to face the group.

"Thanks. I hope that happens to me. It would be nice to have a group of people that I can be myself around without having to worry about how they will react."

"Well then you're in luck!" Sora cried, returning to his normal, hyperactive self.

Demyx sighed at his friends sudden mood swing but found himself laughing with the rest of the group.

The laughter died when Larxene approached the table with a serious expression.

"Oh no. Larx, don't tell me he vetoed the investigation," Marluxia pleaded. He sank in his seat, frowning pitifully.

Larxene's face erupted in a smile a moment later. "Nope, I just like to mess with you guys." She splayed her fingers on the table in front of her and looked at the group.

"We can start as soon as we want but first and foremost he wants our research before we do anything invasive. That means Luxord, Xaldin, Xiggy and myself will hit city records to see if anyone matched the description. Everyone else, fan out and see what you can find on the road or just locally. Boss man told us we could leave now and miss the rest of class to get started, but we have to check his webpage later for info on some of the equipment tutorials we're missing."

"Great. Lets get going." Pushing himself up from the table, Demyx led his team out the door.

As they broke out into the blazing morning sunshine, Demyx halted Zexion, Roxas, and Sora outside. "Alright. Listen up. We need to lay some ground rules. This is the first time any of us are going on an actual investigation. Well, actually, Zexion, have you ever-"

"No. I have never been in an actual investigation at my home. I have only dealt with the magic part of the rituals," Zexion interjected.

"Okay then. First, no one goes anywhere alone. Always have a still camera and video camera on you and a walkie-talkie or a cell phone on you at all times. Second, don't take any action unless you have consulted all members of our team first, or at least one of us four. Got it?"

Three heads nodded and Demyx's face broke out in a wide smile.

"Alright then. Lets go on a ghost hunt."

End Chapter Three

**Voila! so what did you think? i honestly care and would love it if you would just click on the little blue button. **

**and if anyone out there speaks Romanian and saw something wrong with what i wrote. please tell me. i used a translator of iGoogle and it seemed like it worked well but one can never be sure with the fickle internet. also, i am not wiccan and what im writing is only from the minimal research that i have done and will be doing during the duration of the story. also just some previous knowledge that i gathered from ghost stories on T.V. so some of it is probably not going to be accurate. i am not making fun of them or anything, just using the idea for my story and if you want me to correct something, i will.**

**also, as for Xiggy and Xaldin's messed up pasts... i wrote this chap a few weeks ago and i was really depressed due to some family and personal issues and it was kind of like me releasing my pent up frustration on these two. sorry of it seems weird but thats just how its gonna be.**

**finally, the symbol on Zexion's arm is based off the symbol of the Charmed Ones from the T.V. show Charmed. It is slightly different but that is where if got the idea from. Credit goes to the producers.**

**well, cookies to whoever reviews and i think i covered everything so until next time... see you!!!**


	4. Say What

**Woot! chappy four is up... and early too. this is my gift to all of you on my birthday! woot (again) 17! so i hope you enjoy this. after this chapter, updates are going to be a little slower, most likely about one a week instead of this three in one week thing. (these chapter were already written but the rest aren't so work with me here)**

**this chap is dedicated to AkuDemyfan who had reviewed all the chapters this far! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!**

**I guess this would be appropriate time to tell you that this is an au story if you hadn't figured that out. Also, i got a review with criticism in it... much thanks! said person said that they thought the story was moving a bit fast so i would love your thoughts on this. **

**on that note, please enjoy!**

Chapter Four: Say What?!

"We have to go back to our room to get my video camera and our digital cameras," Sora announced to the rest of the group. The four were on the main road again, bypassing where they had seen the ghosts. Neither he nor Demyx had pointed the location out to the other two. That didn't mean they hadn't been planning on it.

When they were about to reach the point, Demyx had been about to blurt the whole thing out when Zexion had raised a hand to silence him. He had informed them that he liked to know the bare minimum about an investigation before entering the site and with the explanation the two had given in class, he knew more than he would have liked.

"We only have one video camera and I wanted us to split into two groups so we could cover more ground. Do either of you have your own cameras?"

"I have both," Roxas said. "Can we stop at Rodney to pick them up?"

"Sure," Demyx called to the back seat. He changed lanes and glanced at the other boy in the backseat. "What about you Zexion? D'you have a camera?"

He nodded. "I live at Rodney as well, in building E so you don't have to worry about going to far out of your way."

Roxas turned and grinned at the boy sitting next to him. "Me too!" He turned back to face the front. "Alright driver. One stop at Rodney then on to Smyth."

About thirty minutes later, the group arrived at Rodney Hall, building E. Demyx eased the car into one of the few parking spaces, and the minute the car stopped moving, the other three bolted, running towards the building. Demyx hurriedly locked the car and sprinted after them. When he reached the door, he saw Roxas fumbling with his passkey before it finally registered on the hidden scanner by the door.

"What floor are you on?" Roxas asked Zexion as he pulled the door open.

"One."

"No way? Me too."

With that, they threw open the entrance door and sprinted down the hall, the two freshmen leading the way. Surprisingly, the two stopped at two doors right next two each other. They looked at each other, as though they were wondering why the other was there.

"You're room 108?"

"Yes. Who would have thought we were in rooms right next to each other. This will make the investigation much easier. We can discuss it whenever we need to," Zexion said in his quiet voice.

The two started to laugh, Zexion, quiet and reserved, Roxas with a soft laugh that shook his shoulders.

"If you two are done, please get a move on. We still have to get to Smyth, remember?" Sora implored, appearing between the two.

"Right." They nodded in unison and disappeared into their respective rooms. When the doors closed, Demyx grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him across the hall.

"Is it just me or is Roxas acting strange."

"It's not just you. I was thinking that too. He hasn't acted all giggly or happy in a long time."

"And Zexion too. I mean, I know we haven't even known him one day but, I just don't think he has been this open in a long time. He was glaring at me this morning when I first saw his tattoo."

Sora looked at him for a minute with a funny expression.

"You know, I think Zexion might be good for him, you know, a good friend, like we are to each other. He hasn't been the same this past year, since Hayner died at the end of summer last year. Zexion seems to bring out what they brought out in him."

"Yeah. Zexion better not do something like that too him, he saw too much sadness last year. Leukemia right?"

"Yeah, he was so sad it hurt everyone around him. Then when Olette and Pence skipped town, he just shut down. They were pretty much his only friends, you know that. It hurt to see him so empty. But you know, ever since then, he's been acting wacky."

"What do you mean? Wacky how?"

"I don't really know. After that whole deal, he was all the sudden extremely connected to everyone's emotions. Like, take this summer. You know that one day you were really sick? Well, I went to Wawa that day with Roxas to get a milkshake. Well, he was inside making the shakes when Seifer and I got in a huge fight. We were outside, so I doubt that he could have heard us, when he came running out and punched Seifer right in the jaw. I know that may not be strange, they hate each other, but he just kept hitting him again and again, and you know he would never do that."

"Well, he could have just slipped over the edge. You and I both know he has a big temper. I don't see what's so strange."

"That's because I haven't told you yet. The thing is, everything he was yelling at Seifer was _exactly what I was feeling. _I felt so angry and he was portraying that anger. I swear to you, if I had been the one yelling, it was to a T what I would have been saying."

Demyx just stared at him. Sora frowned and looked at the floor.

"I knew I was crazy. Its nothing. I was just over thinking it."

"What? No, no," Demyx said, snapping back to reality. "It's just, I think I may know what's up with him. I was doing some research over the summer and I found some information on empaths. They can feel the emotions of those around them, in some cases they have been known to act on them as well. The passage was really interesting so I decided to research more, thinking it could come in handy. Turns out, there are a few documented cases where the person isn't born with that ability; it was caused by a large amount of emotional trauma. That may be what happened with Roxas."

"You may be on to something. Come to think of it, his emotions have been a little strange and everywhere lately."

"Sora! Do you know what this means? Your brother may be able to connect with an imprint of an entity and we could find out what it was feeling at that place and time. This could be key to our investigation!"

"Alright. We should probably tell Ansem tomorrow at-"

"Tell Ansem what?"

Demyx and Sora jumped at Roxas' and Zexion's sudden appearance.

"Uh, um, just tell him that we're separating into two groups," Sora stuttered. He cast a pleading look at Demyx and the blonde sophomore immediately grabbed Roxas' wrist and the back of Zexion's pullover, effectively pushing them down the hall.

"Yeah. We just need to tell him that Larx and them are researching while we're doing field work."

"If you say so." Roxas pulled his wrist away from Demyx and pushed the older blondes hand away from Zexion.

As they passed him, heading for the exit, Zexion swung his head around to stare at Demyx for a small second before Roxas reclaimed his attention. Demyx felt himself start to sweat along the nape of his neck. The younger male seemed to know they were hiding something and he did not approve; it was evident in his icy eyes.

Sora quickly walked up behind him and pushed him forward.

"Thanks for the save back there."

"Don't thank me yet. Zexion knows more than he lets on. I swear he knows that we are keeping something from them. I don't know whether to call his insightfulness a blessing or a curse.

Sora shrugged and picked up his pace to catch up with the younger teens.

"I don't know. They shouldn't be too mad. I mean, it's nothing major. Once we tell Ansem, we'll tell them. No harm done."

Demyx shrugged and gave a noncommittal shrug with his head. He didn't want Zexion to turn Roxas against them because he felt they weren't being honest.

His fears were confirmed, however, when they reached the car. It was evident that Zexion had filled the blonde in on his suspicions as they were both glaring at the two sophomores.

They all got into the car in silence and it hang in the air as they drove away, heading to Smyth hall.

Sora glanced at him nervously out of the corner of his eye and Demyx shook his head the barest inch, showing that he had no clue what was going on either. Sora huffed, crossed his arms and hunched down in the seat.

Demyx tightened his hands on the steering wheel and barely contained and agitated sigh. It was going to be a long day.

PageBreak PageBreak PageBreak

"This is getting ridiculous. We haven't been able to stay in one place for more than a minute."

"I know. You'd think he would have given up by now."

"Maybe we should go back to the road. You know, where we were attacked this morning."

"Why? So we can be attacked again?"

"No. Well, there may be a chance of it but I was thinking maybe those guys from earlier will show back up."

"Why do you want to see them again?"

"I don't want to see _them, _I want _them _to see _us._"

"Ok, now you've lost me."

"Well, you saw the way they reacted earlier. I was thinking about it this whole time. Why would they have slammed on the brakes if they hadn't seen us?"

"You know what, I think your brains are growing back, Axel. That has to be the smartest thing you ever said, dead or alive."

"Okay, stop with the sarcasm short stuff."

"I am not short! I'm 5'8"! You're just unreasonably tall!"

"I'm 5'10"! That's hardly unreasonably tall."

"You are impossible. Back to the point. You're right though. Maybe they could see us and maybe they'll come back. I guess it's worth a shot."

"Great. Lets go. And watch your back for those shadows."

"Right. You too."

PageBreak PageBreak PageBreak

"Alright. You two wait in the car and we'll go grab our stuff. Please don't drive off or break something okay?" Sora called to the two in the back seat as he closed the car door. They had reached Smyth and they decided that just he and Demyx would run up to the room and back without the other two to slow them down.

"Whatever, Mom. Just hurry up. I want to get back there."

Demyx nodded and sprinted towards the dorm.

"Did you remember to bring them?"

"Of course So. We spent so much money on them, I would have to be more air-headed than you to forget."

Sora grinned and pushed the door open. They ran down the hall to their room and pulled the door open.

"Alright. You get the cameras and video cameras and I'll hunt for the special equipment."

"You got it Mr. Demyx."

A minute later, the duo was running back to the car. As they got closer, they could see two heads in the back seat bent close to each other. They looked as though they were having an argument and didn't realize how close they were. Sure enough, as Sora and Demyx got closer, they could hear raised voices coming from the car. The two looked at each other and slowed their pace so they'd be able to catch the last bit of the conversation.

"- he would tell me!"

"Are you sure? How do you know he isn't keeping something from you? Both of them."

"Because, Zexion. Sora is my brother and Demyx is as good as, I've known him almost my whole life! And you've only known them a few hours and you're already claiming they are keeping things from me."

"How can you explain how they all of the sudden stopped talking about whatever they were talking about and Sora started stumbling over his words when you ask him what they were talking about. I'm telling you Roxas, as a friend; they are keeping something from you."

"And I'm telling you, they would never do something like that." Roxas silenced any further arguments from the other boy by sending a chilling glare.

Demyx and Sora took this as their cue to get into the car. When Demyx turned the key in the ignition, he looked in his rear-view mirror at the two. Roxas was glaring at his lap, obviously trying his best to ignore the young man next to him. Zexion was switching between looking pissed off and regretful that he had told the blonde anything. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Sora, his eyes falling on the equipment in his lap.

"I thought you were only getting cameras. What are those things?" he asked the brunette.

"What? These?" he asked, holding up a small device. "These are EMF detectors. Demyx bought them this summer so we wouldn't have to worry about barrowing Ansem's. They are used to detect magnetic and electronic energy in the site of a suspected haunting. They are really useful though sometimes a little unreliable."

"I see."

Sora nodded and silence enveloped the car. The tension in the back seat was like tangible electricity; if you were to poke the air between the two in the seat, you would most likely receive a very painful shock.

Demyx looked over at his best friend and one look told him that he was not happy. His expression kept switching from anger, to annoyance to guilt; he was probably blaming himself for potentially ruining a friendship for his baby brother.

Demyx released an exasperated sigh as he hunched back into his seat. The hour's drive was going to seem like an eternity.

Sure enough, an hour later, Demyx was relieved to finally reach the road where they had seen the two figures. Their class had ended about twenty minutes ago making the road clear.

As the four climbed from the car, Demyx took a mental note of how Roxas seemed to cling to Sora, leaving Zexion high and dry.

Putting momentarily from his mind, Demyx gathered the others around him. "Alright, lets split into two groups and fan out. We have to meet Xiggy and them in a few hours for lunch. Tradition," he added at the sight of Roxas' confused face.

"I'll go with Roxas," Sora spoke up linking his arm with his brothers. "One new person to each experienced one."

"Okay then, I'm with witch boy here." Ignoring Zexion's complaints that he was Wiccan not a witch thank you very much, Demyx pulled the equipment from the car. "Each group needs one person to man the video camera and watch the time and the other person needs to man the digital camera and the EMF detectors."

"What about the other two cameras?" Roxas asked.

"Those are in case the first run out of batteries or memory. Electronic stuff tends to act strange in supernatural situations. Oh, and on that note, cell phones and all that other stuff, turn them off and only use them for emergencies. Good? 'Kay, fan out troops!"

Sora took his gear from Demyx and handed Roxas the video camera. As the two started walking into the fields surrounding the buildings, Demyx turned and walked in the other direction, calling for Zexion to follow him.

They stopped at the edge of the woods running parallel to the road.

"Alright, you, man the camera. Keep it running and around where I am. If you see or hear something, do not react. However, if you feel something abnormal, use your judgment.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are Wiccan, so obviously you have to have some sort of connection with spirits or the spirit realm. If you feel anything, tell me."

"You have my word."

The two turned on their assorted equipment and began slowly walking along the edge of the woods. When they had gone about twenty feet, the EMF detector started going crazy and Zexion gasped and put a hand on his chest.

Demyx hurried to his side and put a hand on the hunched over teens back.

"Zexion? Are you okay?" Mentally, he kicked himself. 'Stupid question you idiot,' he admonished himself. 'Obviously he isn't okay."

"Yeah, I'm alright," the teen wheezed. "I just felt something. It was like something all the sudden just jumped on me and pulled at my chest. Whatever it is, it's still here, though its weaker, I can barely feel it."

A soft breeze blew between the two and a sudden chill settled in. Once again, the EMF detector beeped in such rapid succession, it sounded like one continuous sound. Demyx looked at Zexion in confusion.

"There are two now, one helping the weaker one, the one that caught my attention." Demyx nodded and Zexion trained the video camera in his hand on he space between them. He fixed the zoom and focus before looking up at Demyx.

"Maybe we should try and talk to them and see of we can catch anything on the camera."

"Right." Demyx collected himself then asked in a loud voice. "Who are you?"

He heard nothing with his hears but silently hoped that camera was picking something up. He allowed a small silence before continuing, pausing slightly in between each question.

"How old are you?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Are you the same spirits we saw earlier?"

"What do you want?"

As the last question fell from his lips, Demyx heard Zexion gasp again and saw his stumble to his right; in the direction of the woods.

"They want us to follow them."

"Demyx nodded but before he could move, the air dropped even farther and an angry gust of wind flew around them. Zexion cried out in pain and almost fell completely sideways.

"We have to go. Something must be coming; they're pulling stronger than any entity I have ever felt."

Demyx heard a rustling behind him and turned. His breath caught in his chest when he saw a shadow, twisting, evil and alive, rushing toward them.

"And with good reason. Run!"

Demyx shoved Zexion forward as they struggled to increase the distance between themselves and the encroaching shadow. As they entered the woods, Demyx allowed the younger teen to lead, seeing as he had a connection to whatever spirits were leading them, he only hoped they were leading them somewhere safe.

They flew deeper into the woods, Zexion changing their path every fifty feet or so. When Demyx looked over his shoulder, he willed himself to go faster. The shadow seemed to be growing stronger if its increase in size was any indication. He looked ahead of him again and saw that they were nearing a small cabin that was sitting on the back of a small stream they had been following.

When they got within about thirty feet of the cabin, the shadow emitted a long shriek that made Demyx and Zexion cover their ears. They both stumbled and reached the entryway of the cabin. Zexion put a hand on the handle only to jerk his hand back.

"There's a charm on the door. A Wicca charm."

"Can you get past it?" Demyx asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"I should. It's a simple charm. All you have to do is say the counter charm. Any Wiccan knows it." He looked back down at the knob and reached his hand over it. "Deschis în numele a Zeita. Vă spun nici un rău."

The lock swung open of its own accord as the last syllable left Zexion's lips. He turned and sent Demyx a small half smile. Lets go. They already went inside." He walked through the open door and waited just inside the entry for Demyx. The door slammed shut behind them and Demyx heard the distinct sound of the lock snapping into place.

"What did you say?"

"Open in the name of the Goddess. We mean no harm."

"Romanian?"

Zexion nodded.

"I really have to learn that. Then I don't have to keep wondering."

Zexion shrugged. "maybe I will have to teach everyone. Then you be able to say a few charms or at least use them and you could protect yourselves."

"That would be great. Well, why don't we try and find our spirits then and see what they want."

The two walked around the small cabin, trying to find any trace of the entities. Zexion still had his camera on and was still filming and Demyx was snapping pictures every so often.

"This all looks so familiar. Feels it too. I wonder…"

Demyx started at the others quiet voice. "What are talking about?"

"I don't really know, but I think this house used to belong to a Wiccan, and a strong one at that. Why else would there be a Wicca charm on the door. And that would explain why the ghosts would come here. For shelter."

"Hey, instead of speculating, why don't you just ask us yourselves? Jeez. _We_ weren't even this oblivious when _we _were alive."

Demyx and Zexion both turned at the sound of the voice. It was faint but still clear, as though they were talking through a think curtain or glass. What they saw left Demyx speechless.

Facing them were two men, most likely in their late teens if he didn't know any better. The first one he saw had sliver hair reaching past his shoulders and hanging over his eyes. What he could see of his face looked angular and handsome. What stood out the most was the black blindfold that wrapped around where his eyes should have been. He seemed tall, about as tall as Demyx. He had a strong body; that much was evident even through the hoodie sweatshirt he wore and his casual fit jeans. He wore an easy smile on his face, not huge but not imperceptible, just the right size.

The young man next to him was just as striking. He was a few inches taller than the other and had bright red hair that was styled into a mass of spikes that looked soft despite the amount of gel Demyx was sure was in them. He had the deepest green eyes he had ever seen and just beneath them were two black teardrop shaped tattoos. He was frighteningly thin though he obviously tried to hide it with a slightly baggy red t-shirt over a long sleeved back one. He had on straight-legged black jeans and chunky boots to finish off.

Another thing he noted, was that both of them had two hoops in their left ears, same spacing, same style. The silver haired one also had his lower lip pierced with an iron hoop and the red head had his left eyebrow pierced with what also looked like an iron piercing. If he hadn't already known they were ghosts, Demyx would have thought he was looking at two normal college students, that's how clear they were. Maybe a little fuzzy around the edges, but for the most part, they looked solid.

Zexion, like always was the first to recover and he looked at them in the eyes.

"Why can we see you in here but not outside?"

"Cool, so you _can_ see us." The red head looked at the teen beside him with a smug look. "I told you so."

"Shut up. And to answer your question, we aren't really sure. We figured that since you saw us earlier," he said, pointing to Demyx, "that maybe you could se us little clearer in here. It must have something to do with the residual magic in here."

"I knew it," Zexion mumbled.

"Knew what?"

"That this place used to belong to a Wiccan. I could sense their charms."

The red head tapped his head. "That must be why you were the one to sense us out there. Even though blondie over there had seen us before and would be able to sense us again, we must have connected to a magic that was similar to one we had familiarized ourselves with."

"Interesting. Why were you trying to find us anyway?"

"Well, since you saw us earlier, we figured maybe you could help us with a little predicament."

"That depends," Zexion started, his eyes narrowing. "What are we talking about?"

"Ah, now that's the catch. We can't really tell you 'till you agree to help us."

When Zexion looked like he was going to fire something back, Demyx grabbed his arm and spoke up for the first time.

"Before we decide that, mind if we ask you one thing?"

The silver haired figure shrugged. "Shoot."

"Who are you?"

"We were hoping you would ask that. My name is Riku. And this is my best friend, Axel."

At that point, things stopped making sense in Demyx's head. He could only pull enough neurons together to form one statement, or rather, shout.

"What!"

**alright so what did you think? remember reviews are your friends! also, i feel it is wise to tell you that from here on out the chapters will be about a thousand words longer... i just have more to say i guess. so please tell me what you thought and if you have something you want to tell me, be it criticism or you spotted something wrong with the Romanian or supernatural facts please tell me.**

**on a completely unrelated note... MY FRIENDS TAYLOR MADE ME A SEA SALT ICE CREAM SHAPED LIKE A PAUPU FRUIT FOR MY BIRTHDAY... it was sooo good. seriously peoples, try sea salt ice cream. she said she got the recipe online and i recommend it!!!! **

**anyway... till next time!**


	5. Black Empty Nothingness

**A/N: yo! SHE LIVES!!! ahem, yes. I'm updating a little later than usual... oh well. Anyway, to the point. This chapter may very well suck because.... well i really don't know. My beta, the wonderful Taylor aka mizzsheldon (go look at her profile NOW) said that it got a little weird at the end... which is probably true because i was most likely sugar high. Anyway, i just want to thank everyone who has put this story on alert or faved it or reviewed. they mean the world to me. so, this chapter is dedicated to everyone who had done one of those three things! XD! **

**alright so... please enjoy and if you don't like where its headed please at least go down to the bottom and click on the little review button so i can know what i am doing wrong and fix it so it will be better. Ok! so read and enjoy... or don't... its up to you. **

Chapter Five: Black Empty Nothingness

"Let me see if I have this right. You guys are being followed and threatened by this demon named Xemnas to join his legions? And he is sending these Shadows out after you trying to capture you and bring you to him?" Demyx asked, trying to clarify the tale he had just heard.

"Pretty much." Axel said. "It's been like that for three years. Our first year of ghost-hood or whatever you want to call it was relatively peaceful."

"I see."

The four of them were still sitting in the living room of the cabin listening to the ghosts' tale. After recovering from the initial shock that the redhead was indeed Kairi's dead brother, Zexion and Demyx had agreed to help.

"But what can we do? It not like we can battle a demon. And from what you said, he sounds like a powerful one," Zexion said, leaning forward in his chair. He had video taped the whole exchange so they could go back over it with the rest of the team. "Can you shed some light on that?"

"Well, its like this," Riku started, clasping his hands together in front of him. "In the afterlife, there is a hierarchy. Mostly it is made up of demons because the light souls, or good souls I guess, have no reason to stay behind. Evil souls may choose to stay behind where they are confronted by evil spirits aka demons that have been around for eternity. If it's a weak spirit, they usually let them go and you have your regular ghosts but when you get a strong one, they try to recruit them and turn them into demons as well, so they can fight."

"So you're saying that you are in the rank of evil spirits seeing as you're still here?" Demyx asked. The whole thing was Latin to him. It made no sense.

"That's the thing," Axel said. "We don't know why we're still here or why Xemnas is after us. I think it may have something to do with the way we were murdered and didn't just die. That's one thing we would like to figure out. That _and_ we want Xemnas off our backs."

"We may be able to help with figuring out why you are here, but as for demons, I don't know. You would need some pretty strong magic to banish him." Zexion stood up and turned the camera off. "We can start with some basic research then try and figure it out from there. You guys should stay in here where you are protected. I can add some more charms but I don't think that it's necessary and the more I add, the more of a beacon this place will become." He turned to Demyx and nodded toward the door. "Sora and Roxas are probably worried about us. We should get going. Its almost noon."

"Yeah. Let's go." The blonde stood and turned to face the ghosts. Mind if I get a picture of the two of you. Reference and stuff like that."

"Go ahead," Axel said, spreading his arms wide, "anything to help."

Demyx grinned and snapped the picture. "See you guys later. We'll try to come back sometime either today or tomorrow with the other two? Stay out of trouble. Please."

"You got it boss." Demyx grinned as the redhead faded from site. Riku soon followed, shaking his head.

"They stayed in the room right?"

Zexion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah, they're still here. Let's go. You _do_ remember how we got here right?"

"Not a clue," Demyx said with smile.

Zexion groaned and shook his head. He pushed the door open and Demyx followed him into the dark woods.

------------------------------------

"Do you think they will be able to help us, Pyro?"

"I sure hope so. I hope they figure out why he wont leave us alone."

The two ghosts were sitting or rather, floating atop the couch in the living room. The two investigators had left twenty minutes ago and these two were bored already.

"What did you think about them?" Axel asked, reclining in his seat.

"Well, the blonde one, what was his name, Demyx? He has strong extrasensory abilities from what I could tell, probably just as good as mine were. And Zexion, well, he was strong, like _really_ strong, even for a powerful Wiccan. I think this should be interesting if nothing else," Riku commented leaning back in his couch.

"They seemed nice too, or well at least Demyx did. They weren't as nosy or rude or holier-than-thou like most investigators are. Zexion was just a little too wary."

That could be a problem. We need to get him to trust us. His kind can so easily be swayed by the lure of power."

"He seems like a nice guy though, despite that. I hope he can fight it, for his sake and everyone else's. Just think about what Xemnas could do with access to that much power."

"I would rather not."

The two sat in companionable silence, each worrying about what they had just drawn Zexion and Demyx into.

-----------------------------

Sora was pacing back and forth in the sunlit field next to the woods. He was mumbling worried curses under his breath as he waited for Demyx and Zexion to reappear. Roxas, too, was worrying about his friends. He was lying on his back in the lush green grass, a frown darkening his normally light face.

"Where are they? It's ten after twelve. We have to meet the others. What if one of those shadows got to them? They could be hurt!"

"Sora, stop. I'm just as worried about them as you are but this _isn't_ going to help. The woods are huge and if we go in there, we'll end up lost and how will that help them?"

"Roxas! Do you even see how dangerous this situation is?" Sora fell down on the ground next to his brother and covered his eyes with his arm.

"Yes, Sora, I now exactly how dangerous this is but we cant do anything without endangering ourselves too. Think! If they don't come out in ten minutes we should tell the others and Ansem too." He put a hand on his brother's arm and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sure they're fine and we're just over reacting."

"How do you know that?" Sora grumbled quietly. He lifted his head and looked out at the woods. "They could be- DEMYX!"

Sora jumped up and ran towards the woods where his best friend had just materialized. Roxas raised his head from the ground and stared. His frown deepened when he couldn't see Zexion. He stood and jogged over to his brother and poked Demyx on the shoulder.

"Where's Zexion?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly with worry.

"I'm over here, idiot."

Roxas whirled around and saw the boy walking slowly out of the trees. His face lost its frown and he ran to embrace the slate haired teen. Zexion stood stiff for a moment before relaxing into Roxas and patting his on the back. Demyx and Sora looked at each other and grinned before looking back to the tender scene.

"Jeez, what too you guys so long?" Roxas mumbled. "We thought something horrible had happened to you."

Zexion carefully extricated himself from Roxas' hug and nodded to Demyx. "We got held up by, well, by a situation, in the woods."

Demyx nodded back. "We'll tell you over lunch. Come on, let's head over to the meeting place. I hope the others are still there."

"I doubt it," Sora said darkly. "By the time we get there, we'll be forty minutes late."

"Well then, we can tell these two about it. To the car!"

The four walked to the car and settled in for the half an hour drive.

A few minutes into the drive, Roxas spoke up, shattering the silence hanging in the air.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"Chilies of course," Demyx answered him brightly. "It's been our meeting place ever since we met last year. Nice and noisy so most people cant hear what you are talking about."

"So, why were you guys so late getting back? And why did you even go into the woods? I thought you were just going to go along the border, I never thought you would actually go into it." Sora shook his head and turned in his seat so he could face both Demyx and the two in the backseat. "You may as well tell us now."

"It's just like Zexion said. We had a situation."

"You could have at least called us to tell us."

"There wasn't really time for that and cell phones wouldn't have worked anyway," Zexion said. "I apologize on both our behalf's for worrying both of you, but once you see our footage, you'll see that it was worth every minute."

"Its alright Zex, you guys did what you had to I guess." Roxas put his hand on Zexion's shoulder and the other teen shivered. "Whoa, Zexion, why are you so cold? Your skin feels like ice."

Zexion shrugged and fought down another shiver. "I think its because ghosts and spirits use up a lot of energy to stay visible and sentient. They must have been drawing on my energy because, no offense Demyx or anything, but I was the strongest being in the room at the time, and live energy is better than the left over energy that charms give off." He ignored the blank looks Roxas and Sora were giving him and mumbled to himself. "I should probably tell them to stop using the energy from those charms before they're used up and the charms fade."

Roxas stared at him, wide eyed. "You mean to tell me, you guys saw actual spirits, like they took shape in front of you. It wasn't one of Demyx's wacky things where he can see them if they manifest themselves or not?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. But we will tell you about that over lunch. I guess they took more energy than I thought." Zexion sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. "I just need to rest."

He was asleep within minutes. His slate hair fell over even more of his face than normal, covering almost the whole thing. Roxas smiled at his friend and closed his eyes as well, soon joining his friend in slumber. Demyx and Sora were talking quietly in the front seat about how they hoped the others were still at the restaurant so they wouldn't have to explain things twice. As they neared their destination, Demyx looked in the rearview mirror at the backseat and smirked before pointing it out to Sora.

Zexion's head had somehow found its way onto Roxas' shoulder and whose own head was resting on the slate haired boys head. Zexion sighed and snuggled his head into the blonde's neck and a small smile played across the blondes lips.

Demyx turned back to the road and pulled Sora around too. "I knew they would be good for each other," he said.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. They at least seem like they are on the way to becoming good friends. I hope it lasts. Rox needs something stable in his life."

"Agreed. Do you think we should tell them we think he's an empath? I don't want them to fight again like they did earlier."

"Yeah, I guess we should tell them, probably over lunch."

"Well, get ready to talk. We're here."

Demyx pulled into an empty space near the front of the building and cut the engine. He reached back and gently punched the blonde sitting behind him.

"Rox, wake up. It's time for food!"

Roxas grumbled a bit and squinted his eyes. "Wha-? We're here already?" He looked around blearily for a second before closing his eyes again. "Jus' lemme go back t'sleep."

Sora smothered a laugh. His brother acted weird sometimes when he woke up. "Rox. I know you're very comfortable right now, what with the nice pillow and all, but I'm hungry and so is Demyx and we want to go in."

"Pillow? What pillow?" Roxas asked slowly. He was only awake enough to catch part of Sora's speech. Sora caught his eye and looked pointedly at the boy slumbering on Roxas' shoulder. Said blonde stared for a moment before his face flushed pink and he jerked away. Zexion's eyes burst open and he yelped as his seatbelt caught him from face planting into the seat beside him.

He looked at Demyx and Sora who were laughing so hard their eyes were tearing before turning his gaze on the other freshman. Roxas was staring at him wide eyed with a look of, not quite terror but fear, though fear of what Zexion couldn't tell.

"What's going on? Are we there?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from Roxas.

"Chili's. Time for food," Sora said, getting out of the car. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Demyx laughed as he opened his door. "You're always hungry."

"Well, that's not my fault. I'm a growing boy!"

"Sora, you stopped growing back in seventh grade," Roxas said, slamming his door. The brunette glared while his brother and Demyx laughed. The older blonde walked around the car and pulled Zexion out.

"We'd better hurry. Sora can be a real grouch when he's hungry."

Zexion laughed and the four quickly walked towards the front door. The light in the restaurant was dim and the air conditioning was welcomed against the august heat.

"Hello, welcome to Chili's. How many please?"

Sora stepped forward to give their information to the brunette girl behind the desk. While he did, Roxas and Zexion were having a hushed conversation near the door and Demyx looked around the building. It was crowded which was to be expected from the lunchtime rush. He tried to locate their friends and teammates but he couldn't see them anywhere. He was just finishing his scan of the multitude of tables when Sora sprinted the short distance back.

"She said they ate and left about ten minutes to go, so I put our names in so we can at least eat," he said, his words coming out in a rush.

"Great," the tall blonde said, sitting on a bench. "Did they say how long the wait would be?"

"She said about five minutes seeing as they aren't that busy."

Demyx nodded. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander. Behind his closed lids, visions flashed. Though, they were not his own. Darkness surrounded him on all sides, threatening to swallow him whole, threatening to slowly pull the life and soul right out of him. He heard a shout, a pained cry and felt something sinister surround him. Before he could react at all, the vision changed and he was looking down at a gathering of people on a dark night; raindrops falling like droplets of pure darkness, the essence of evil itself. Again, his vision changed and he saw shifting shadows all around him, enticing him to follow. These images plagued his mind without rest . He felt his eyelids start to twitch, his mind begging for release.

"Demyx? Yo, Dem, are you alright?"

"Zexion! Hey man, what's wrong?"

Demyx snapped his eyes open, gasping and drawing in a breath into his lungs. He started coughing, noticing for the first time he had not been breathing throughout the whole ordeal. Sora sat beside him and hit Demyx's back with his fist repeatedly. When the tears in the blondes eyes began to clear, he looked to his side and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Zexion was on the ground, gasping for breath just like Demyx had been. A worried Roxas was kneeling next to the fallen boy, rubbing his back comfortingly. The darker haired boy looked up and his sharp eyes seared into Demyx's own blue-green orbs.

"You saw it too?"

Demyx nodded shakily. "Yeah."

Roxas stooped to help his friend to his feet and led him over to the bench where he sat beside Demyx. "That was certainly interesting. It's happened to me before but never that intensely." He shook his head causing his dark silver hair to sway and it fell to cover his right eye. "Has it ever happened to you before?"

Demyx closed his eyes in thought and shook his head. "I don't thinks so, no. I've been able to sometimes sense the feelings of the spirits in a certain location but I have to be in the same place as them, and no one is here."

"What are you two talking about?" Sora asked, voicing his thoughts as well as his brothers.

Demyx and Zexion exchanged a glance. "We'll tell you about it after we tell you about what happened in the woods earlier," the older of the two said.

"But why can't you tell us now? If it's got something to do with the two-"

"Excuse me, but your table is ready," a happy voice said, interrupting Sora. It was the cheerful, peppy brunette hostess from before. She smiled at them and gestured behind her. "This way. Please follow me." Her chocolate eyes rested a little longer on Zexion than anyone else before she led them down an aisle.

She stopped at a small round booth nestled into the wall and stood off to the side as the others filed in. She handed around menus and a drinks list. "Welcome to Chili's, I'm Brigitte and I'll be your server for today." She smiled at the group before continuing. "Our specials today include our buffalo wings and fajita's and our margarita's are all half off for some special reason or another." Everyone seemed to notice how she was speaking only to Zexion and he shrugged back into his seat while Roxas inched closer to him, almost in a possessive way.

Brigitte walked away shortly after leaving them to ponder over the menu.

"So," Sora said peering over his menu at Demyx, " you ready to tell us what happened?"

Demyx sighed and folded his laminated menu. "Well, when we split into our groups, we started along the edge of the forest when Zexion here felt something pulling him. Then another one showed up and helped the one from before; at the time we just thought they were simple spirits, we were dead wrong as you will find out."

"Are they evil?" Roxas asked, his eyes bulging in terror.

"Don't worry Rox, they are nothing like that."

"Guys, get back to the point!" Sora cried, pounding his fists on the table.

"If you insist," Zexion said, clearing his throat. " Very shortly after this, another one of those shadow entities Demyx saw earlier showed up and I felt this insatiable need to get away from it and it felt like the entities that were with us first were pulling me in the direction of safety. So, Demyx and I ran into the woods with me leading the way and the entities guiding me. I tried to understand what they were feeling, but it was a jumble of fear, need, and pain." His voice slowly drifted off and he was silent, clearly not accustomed to speaking so much.

Demyx was about to continue where his friend left off when Brigitte showed up at the edge of the table.

"Are you all ready to order?" she inquired, smiling warmly at them.

"I'll have a Dr. Pepper," Demyx announced before motioning to Sora go next.

"One for me too."

"Same here," Roxas added.

"I'll have a water please," Zexion decided. He looked up and met her gaze with his own icy one. She smiled extra warmly at him, as though she could melt his gaze. Again, Roxas moved closer to Zexion, almost subconsciously.

"Alrighty. Are you ready to order your food?"

They looked at each other and nodded. She wrote down their respective orders and was on her way down the aisle to wait her other tables, Roxas glaring at her back the whole time.

"You were saying?" he ground out as he turned back to Demyx.

Demyx leaned back slightly, stunned by Roxas' behavior. "Well, we ran fairly deep into the woods and we were led to a cottage of sorts. There was a charm on the door keeping anything evil out so Zexion here figured it belonged to a Wiccan witch at some point and that's why the two ghosts were protected there. That's when we saw them."

Sora was practically jumping up and down with anticipation. "Well! Who are they? What did they look like?"

Demyx grinned and looked at Zexion from the corner of his eye. "What do you think? Should we tell them?"

Zexion gave a small laugh before saying anything. "I think we should end their suffering. Its best they know what they are facing." He turned and looked at the two brothers both obviously suffering under the suspense. "It was Axel and Riku, the guys from the plaque, Kairi's brother and his friend."

A stunned silence met his speech before Sora stammered out a hesitant "What?"

"You heard him. It was Axel and Riku, but that's all I think we should tell you guys in a public place. Plus, we got footage of everything and I think we should go over everything together," Demyx said with finality. He looked over at Zexion who nodded in confirmation.

Sora pouted but the others ignored it, knowing he would come around. Pointless chatter broke out around the table and continued after their food arrived. They munched and discussed various topics, one having to do with what course the others were taking that year, other like where should they meet to watch the tapes with the others team members.

Twenty minutes later, with the bill paid, the four traipsed back to Stacey and drove off back to campus proper.

"So, can you call the others and have them meet us in our room?"

"Sure, but do you think they'll all fit in our little room? Don't you think we should meet somewhere bigger?"

Demyx raised eyebrow. "Sure," he said sarcastically, "Why don't we just have a big powwow in the common room about a suspected haunting where everyone can here us! That's sounds _fantastic!"_

Sora frowned and crossed his arms. "Well _sorry_ Mr. Ghost Hunter," he jeered. "I was just putting it out there. Our room is small and there are nine of us! And its not like people can't hear us through the walls!"

"Sora! What's wrong with you?" Roxas gasped. "This isn't you." He was aghast. His brother was always light hearted and he was never so sarcastic that it became malicious.

"He just really wants to know what happened in the forest and it's making him uneasy that we were in danger and there was nothing he could do to stop it."

Roxas turned in his seat and Demyx stared at the Wiccan through the rear-view mirror. "What do you mean?" Roxas frowned.

"Well, I made it my job to familiarize myself with everyone on the teams' spiritual fingerprint so I could set up charms of protection for you among other things. Turns out a by product of that means that I can feel somewhat what you are thinking."

"You mean like an empath?" Roxas interjected

Demyx and Sora looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes before looking their separate ways. How did Roxas know what an empath was?

"Not exactly. I can't feel what someone is feeling, I can only, I guess you could say, I see what the person is thinking and fearing at the moment." He turned his gaze to the brunette sitting in the front seat. "Is that it, Sora? Aren't I right? You are killing yourself over the fact that you weren't there?"

Sighing, Sora let his head fall to his chest. He was an image of pure defeat. Demyx slid to a controlled stop at a red light and put his whole attention on his dejected best friend.

"I-I just didn't want anything to happen to you, and if it did, I know it would have been all my fault because I hadn't been able to help you." Sora took a shuddering breath before continuing. "I wouldn't have been able to live like that."

The light turned green just as Roxas was reaching forward to put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You can't take all the blame, you know. I was there too. If something did happen, I would be to blame too, but the thing is, Sora, there is _nothing_ to blame either one of us for because we did nothing wrong. We did what we could and nothing happened. Look! Do you see Demyx lying dead in a ditch right now, or Zexion bleeding somewhere? No. They're fine so you have nothing to worry about."

Sora sighed again and wiped away the two tears that had slipped past his eyes lashes and spilled onto his cheeks. He managed a wavering smile and put his hand over his brother's. "I guess your right. I'm just worried about the ghosts, or rather, Axel and Riku. The fact that it's them is trippy too! I mean, we just found out Axel is Kairi's brother for heavens sake and now, we're helping his spirit!"

"Kairi. Should we tell her?" Demyx thought aloud. When he looked around and saw the others staring at him, he elaborated. "Are we going to tell her that we are helping the ghost of her brother with a battle of supernatural proportions? She may be traumatized by what happened but does that mean she has the right to know he's a ghost and is here nonetheless?"

"I don't think we should tell her," Zexion commented. "She will want to see him for herself and then want to tag along no matter how dangerous it could be to her and the rest of us since she has no experience in this field. She may act on emotion and thus put herself and others in danger and that is _not_ something I am willing to risk."

"I agree," Demyx nodded. "Though I really don't want to keep something this big from her, it's for the best." Sora and Roxas nodded in silent agreement. Demyx tore his eyes from the road for a moment to look at Sora. "Now, would you please be a dear and call the others and have them meet in our room? Thank you very much."

Sora blushed at his previous outburst and dialed his phone while the others tried hard to contain their laughter.

----------------------------

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That scraping sound." Riku walked into the kitchen and turned his face to the window in the breakfast nook, reaching out with his mind. "It sounds like something is scraping against glass."

"Do you sense anything?"

"No, that's what's so odd. There's nothing outside this window." Riku paused with his hand on his chin. Suddenly, he ran back to the living room and shook Axel's shoulder. "Axel! Do you think something is trying to break through the barrier?"

"We already saw earlier, they can't get through."

"But what if us using the energy from the charms instead of relying on our own or using it to replenish our strength has in someway weakened the charms?"

"Then we would have a problem," Axel admitted, standing up from the fireplace hearth. "Don't worry though, that's my job and I think we'll be just fine."

No sooner had the words left Axel's mouth, was there an explosive sound and a flash of light. The ghosts were knocked backward, proof that this was indeed something happening in the spirit realm.

Before either of them even had time to question the other as to what had happened, they were surrounded by living shadows. The inky black beings undulated and hissed as they closed in on the two friends. Axel and Riku both lifted their fists to fight but found they were at an extreme disadvantage.

Soon the shadow creatures enveloped them and were slowly taking over. Both boys saw their memories played out in their minds, torturing them by having them relive the love they had felt in life and the pain they had felt in death. An icy chill splintered through their psyches as the creatures delved into their newer memories. With a start, the teens realized what they were doing and it both scared and infuriated the two. Xemnas was gathering information about the investigators and was out to harm them.

The two teens fought the onslaught with very fiber of their being but victory was not sweet. They managed to throw the shadows off after they had found the names and faces of the two boys who had come to see them. With one last splinter of ice slashed into the two teens souls, the shadows left them writhing on the floor in agony.

"We- have to- warn them," Axel managed to cough out. He slowly at up, ignoring the immense pain that caused only to fall back from lack of energy. He looked over at Riku who seemed to be fairing no better. The silver haired boy was panting on his side and seemed to be fading ever so slightly around the edges.

"Its too late," he whispered. "They saw them. There is nothing we can do."

Weakly, Axel pounded his fist on the floor. "We have to do something! We can't let those _things _harm them. Who knows what they will do to them!"

Shakily, Riku got to his feet and slowly made his way over to Axel and he collapsed next to him, his energy nearly spent. "We wouldn't be able to help them, Axel, not like this. I'm sure they'll be fine. They'll be back soon and we'll start to figure all this out." He rested a hand on his best friends shoulder and the older teen shook, his whole body trembling with fatigue. His eyes were misty as he locked his gaze on Riku's unseeing face.

"You had better be right."

---------------------------------

Sora snapped his phone shut. "They said they'll meet us in our room at two so we have about a half an hour, just under," he announced. Demyx nodded and quickly focused on the road again. They were about five minutes out from Smyth and he was in a hurry to get back, and to stop wasting gas. He had been driving for what felt like most of the morning and all he wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep.

The early morning must have finally caught up with the younger boys; they were passed out in the back seat though this time, their heads rested against their respective windows. Sora had turned the radio to a classical station just before the two had gone to sleep, right before he called their friends.

"Were they mad that we were late?"

"A bit, though once I told them what happened, they were intrigued. Larxene couldn't understand why you didn't try to do more with that shadow thing."

Demyx let loose a soft laugh. "That's our crazy nymph. We should let her in on the field one day and see how she handles it."

Sora had to laugh at that. "That would be amazing. I would pay a lot of money to see her get scared and run screaming like the girl we all know she is… somewhere."

Demyx rolled his eyes then let his thoughts wander. The road was calm and not very busy so he didn't need to give it much attention. Sora looked like he would be dozing any minute now so Demyx felt very much alone, not that he minded much. Even _he _needed some time alone to think.

Just as he was getting into a comfortable state of mind, he heard something hit the car with a crack. He checked all his mirrors and could find nothing wrong. But, no sooner had he returned his gaze to the windshield did am inky darkness spew across it, blocking his view entirely.

He screamed and swerved in an attempt to knock whatever it was off his car, but to no avail as more black things were joining it, now attacking the car in proper, gouging at it with long, sharp ragged claws. Demyx's scream woke the other students in the car and they all screamed as well when they discovered themselves under attack.

A small crack appeared in the door next to Zexion and a shadow oozed through and anchored itself to him and could not be shaken free. More cracks appeared and more creatures oozed through. Each would hiss and snarl before launching themselves at the nearest person and striking.

Their sharp claws caused small trickles of blood to flow down the boys' arms and legs and all other exposed flesh. The boys punched and kicked but could not dislodge the frightening creatures. More disturbing than the pain from the cuts was the unnerving cold that spread through the boys with each touch from a jet-black claw. It was piercing and cruel, as though it was sucking all life from the boys.

One shadow leaped at Demyx and slashed him right over the heart. So intense was the pain that seared through him, Demyx screamed in agony and jerked the wheel in his hands, finally forcing it off the road. A dagger of ice pierced Demyx's heart and his screams of anguish died on his lips as his body writhed in his seat.

Suddenly, the dark creatures spun out of sight. But before any relief could be felt, a blanket of ice covered them, causing them all to cry out in pain. None of them saw the edge of another small wood quickly drawing closer and closer. But they felt it.

The car slammed into the stand of trees with such force, the windows on the driver's side all shattered and the car curved around a tree trunk.

Demyx felt an icy dagger being driven into his head then…

Black, empty nothingness.

End Chapter Five

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**alrighty... so it was longer, one pairing is starting to show through a bit and... OMG is that a cliffy? eh, most likely not, its my sad attempt. so, did you like? did you dislike? please let me know? i want you guys to like what i write so i want to know your thoughts.... sea salt ice cream to those who review!!!!! (and it is seriously good stuff! go find a recipe online and try it!)**


	6. Sorry

**hey guys! didja miss me!! im so sorry for the long delay, i dont even want to think about how long its been. the chap didnt want to be written, i had personal issues to deal with and just all around suckyness. this chapter may not make alot of sense and it may be pointless but thats just how the cookie crumbles. sometimes you get bad chappies and sometimes you get good ones. **

**Remington RS~ thanks for the review! and the other team member are here! if only for a short while. i hope it wont disappoint!**

**thanks to everyone who reviewed and alerted and all that jazz. **

**DISCLAIMER~ not mine. please dont sue. **

**well here you are. chapter six. **

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Chapter Six: Sorry

The darkness slowly receded, creeping away; giving way to a pounding pain that would not be ignored. A keening sound resounded through the retreating darkness much akin to the sound of sharp nails raking down a chalkboard. It shrieked so loudly and shrilly, threatening to shatter any poor mind that happened to be passing by,

Then, as thought the heavens themselves exploded, a bright white light burst out and dispelled the deafening darkness. As the flash receded, darkness was present once again, this time, silent. It was welcomed… if only for a second.

Demyx groaned as pain erupted through his body. His eyelids twitched as he struggled to open his eyes.

"Ugh. What happened?"

When he received a deafening silence as an answer, Demyx cracked his eyes open and looked around his car. What he saw made him wish he had never opened his eyes.

His car was in ruins. The passenger side of the car was wrapped around a tree and the driver's side window and windshield were shattered from the force. But that wasn't the worst thing. As much as it hurt to see his precious car destroyed, it was nothing compared to the utter pain he felt when he saw his friends.

Sora's head was resting against his cracked window, a small river of blood running down the side of his face. His face was frozen in a grimace of pain. He was so still, Demyx had to put a hand on his chest to make sure he was even breathing, even if it was shallow. Demyx turned painfully in his seat to see the two in the back. Zexion wasn't bleeding as much as Sora but adorning his face and neck were fairly deep lacerations from flying glass and strange monsters that had attacked them. He was unconscious as well, his arm haphazardly thrown across his face, his left arm thrown to the side and lying at an awkward angle. He was doubled over and Roxas was laying over him, his arms wrapping around the other boy protectively. He didn't appear to have fared any better. He had a large bruise on his forehead, obviously from hitting his head on either the seat or the window in his rush to protect his friend. He was also unconscious.

Turning away from his friends, he quickly checked himself over for injuries. He felt a bruise on the side of his head, and a small matt of blood in his hair, the result of hitting his head on the shattered window he figured. He also found long cuts on his face and arms. His body was stiff as though he had been lying still for hours. He leaned forward in his seat slightly so he could fish his cell phone out of his back pocket.

With a furrowed brow, he checked his service and released a shaky sigh when he found he had bars. With trembling fingers he dialed 911.

He breathed out when his call went through. He quickly explained their situation to the woman on the other end of the line. He gave them their approximate location and said that he would stay on the line as long as he could.

He soon found that that wouldn't be very long. Inky blackness was slowly creeping into the corners of his vision and his breath danced past his lips in an almost inaudible sigh. He could vaguely hear the woman on the other line asking if he was still there but he couldn't find the breath to answer her. The silver and blue cell phone slipped from his fingers and landed with a quiet thud on the floor of the car. He tried desperately to stay awake but the darkness was pulling him under and he couldn't find the strength to fight it.

---------------------------

"Oh man. I knew we shouldn't have gone to them. Now look what happened!"

"Axel, relax. They knew what they were getting into. Although, I didn't know and I never could have guessed he would do _this!"_ Riku gestured to the car below them.

Axel had been worried that Xemnas had found out about Demyx, Zexion and their friends but Riku had convinced him to stay put so they could replenish their strength. They had both fallen into an uneasy slumber only to be awoken by a sharp pang caused by a spike in negative energy not to far away. They could only guess that Xemnas had found the investigators and had rushed off to find them, praying they were all right. Their fears had been realized and much to their fright, they were too late. The two had been filled with as much worry as a heartless ghost could and they had stayed behind to make sure nothing more happened. Now, they were watching as the four in the car were cut from the twisted metal and pulled into stretchers to be loaded into waiting ambulances.

"We have to help them."

"What can we do, beanpole? We're ghosts, remember."

Axel sighed and looked at his feet. "We can call it quits. Tell them they should stop helping us and then they wont be in danger." Axel closed his eyes then opened them to look at the pale figures on the stretchers below them. He glided down a little closer and let his eyes flow over the first three boys before letting them settle on Demyx. He felt a twinge in his heart when he saw the oxygen mask and the blonde's closed eyes. He let his emerald eyes slide shut before whispering, "I can't let them get hurt anymore."

"So that's it!" Riku shouted, throwing his hands up. "We're just going to give up now that they got a few scratches?"

"A few scratches?! Riku, I would say use your eyes, but seeing as that isn't possible, then use your common sense! The hit a tree at fifty-five miles an hour! They should be dead and it's only because of some miracle that they aren't. I don't want them to suffer because of us." He glared at the silverette, his malachite eyes burning with anger and resolve. Though he knew Riku couldn't see him, he knew that he could feel the heat of his glare on his face. "We are going to the hospital and telling them we're done. They don't have to worry about us anymore."

Riku shook his head and turned away, fading into the trees as he went. Axel took one more look at the pale boys and sighed as the doors to the ambulances slammed shut. As he followed his friend, he wondered if they were doing to right thing.

-----------------------------

_Beep…beep…beep…_

'That's annoying. Why is my alarm clock going off this early in the evening? Wait a sec? That's not my alarm clock. And these aren't my sheets.' Demyx struggled to free himself from the dark surrounding him. Slowly, he opened his eyes only to shut them tightly again.

A blinding white light filled his vision, only to be amplified by the stark white walls. He opened his eyes a fraction of an inch again and slowly took in his surroundings. He was lying on a lumpy bed with scratchy sheets and was hooked up to an IV along with multiple other machines. He could guess that one was measuring his heart rate, thus the beeping and maybe the others were for blood pressure and other such things. He could feel a bandage around his head and when he brought a hand to his face, he felt stiff stitches in some places where others just had had small bandages and other cuts were left uncovered.

Demyx closed his eyes again and let himself sink into his pillow. He could remember crashing into a tree after being attacked by a group of shadows like the one that had attacked Axel and Riku. More vague were the memories of when he woke up. He remembered looking at his friends and seeing them hurt and dialing 911 but after that, nothing.

Slowly, he turned his head to the left and saw another white bed, this one playing host to a dark silver haired boy.

Zexion.

He was hooked up to just as many machines as Demyx was and had a heavy cast on his left arm extending from wrist to elbow. His face was pale and he looked smaller than normal, almost as though the crash had taken away some of his substance.

Carefully, Demyx turned his head back to look out the bright window to his right. He tried not to move his neck too much, it was stiff and hurt to move.

Not a moment later, Demyx swung his head to look at his left once more. Ignoring the pain in his neck, he focused on the space between his bed and Zexion's. Amid the annoying beeps coming from the machines, Demyx could have sworn he'd heard a voice, not just any voice mind you, but the voice belonging to a certain red headed ghost. Demyx closed his eyes and focused all his energy on trying to see what was in front of him.

When he opened his eyes, sure enough, there was Axel, looking down on him with the most worried expression Demyx had ever seen. His deep green eyes were dull and brimming with guilt. His short eyebrows were knit together and he was biting his fingernail.

Demyx, not sure if Axel knew he could see him or not, cleared his throat and spoke up.

"If you keep frowning like that, your face is gonna stay that way." Axel looked right into his eyes and gave a small jump when he heard Demyx's hoarse voice.

He ran over and knelt next to Demyx's bed. "I am so sorry Demyx. I never meant for this to happen. We were attacked in the cabin and Xemnas' shadows got hold of our memories about you guys. I swear I didn't want this to happen to you guys." Axel's words were coming so fast and frantically, Demyx had a hard time making sense of any of them. The redhead's hands fluttered over Demyx upper body as though looking for someway to comfort him. He gave up and looked miserable when he found he couldn't even _touch _the boy. "I've already spoken with Riku and he has agreed to let you guys off the hook. Neither of us wants you to get into any more trouble because of us so you can quit if you like, we'll understand that you don't want to be in this sort of situation."

Demyx could swear there were the ghosts of tears in Axel's eyes when he stood and turned away. Hastily he threw a hand out as though to grab his arm to make him stay.

"Wait. Damnit Axel, I said wait!" Demyx glared at the redhead angrily. Axel slowly turned to face the smaller boy, this time, confusion written across his face. Demyx lowered his head and stared at his hands. "What makes you think we would want to leave this alone? Now we know what kind of danger you guys are in and personally, that just makes me want to help you guys even more. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say this, we don't want you to suffer anymore than you don't want us too. As soon as we get out of here, we are back on the case."

"Are you sure? This is just a small little speck of what he can do. Xemnas is one of the most powerful demons, only a few notches below Omega. He can wield powers you never even dreamed of! He-"

Demyx put two hands up and waved them around in front of his face. "Wait a second, the Omega? As in the End?"

Axel smiled wryly. "I wish. He's close to the End hence the name but he isn't all the way there. He is the second in command, the highest demon second only to Lucifer himself. While he is off doing whatever it is he does, Omega here is in charge of the lesser demons and recruiting new ones. Xemnas worked his way up over the past four years and is two below him."

"Damn," Demyx whistled, "Xemnas must be good to have gone that far in only four years."

"Yeah. Well, I guess I should wait till you are better and your friends are all here before I tell you more. Besides, me and Riku have to rest up a it more in case he comes back."

Demyx nodded though he was sad the older boy had to leave already. He smiled a bit to hide it, "Be careful ok?"

Axel nodded, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth and a small light shining behind his eyes. "You too. Get well soon." He walked toward the wall and vanished through it, fading from Demyx's sight.

Said blonde sighed and leaned back into his pillows. He felt so tired, he just wanted to sleep.

----------------------------

"So what did he say?" Riku asked before settling onto an armchair. The two were back in the cabin and resting up. Axel had found the silverette next door to Demyx and Zexion's room, with Sora and Roxas. He had told him it was time to go and they had left together. Axel had refused to say anything on the way back to the cabin and Riku was frustrated beyond belief. "Well."

Axel sighed and fell onto the couch. He rubbed his hands over his eyes before whispering, "He said they would stay on the investigation." 'As much as I wished they wouldn't.'

Riku smirked at him, "So what's our next step?"

"I guess we just wait for them to recover enough to get back out here. Were the other two awake when you went into their room?"

Here, Riku hung his head, a faint pink just visible on his cheeks. "No, but that one, Sora, was talking in his sleep."

"You weren't listening to him were you?" Axel glared. He for one believed in privacy and never listened to other people when they were sleep talking; Riku on the other hand, not so much.

"Hey, it wasn't that big a deal. He was just saying that he wished we were alive. I don't get it. He has never even met us and wants us to be alive?"

"Maybe its just for Kairi's sake. They're all friends remember."

"I guess. It just seems kind of weird. Do you want to go visit her?"

Axel shook his head. "It's bad enough that I can't spend time with my sister, but I don't think I want to actually be in the same room as her, don't think I could handle it."

"But what about yesterday morning? You were fine."

"I was far away from her, and it was just a glance, just enough to make sure she was alright. I don't really want to be near people I loved, it hurts too much."

Riku shook his head. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep. I suggest you do the same."

Sighing, Axel settled onto the couch. He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander as he fell into slumber. As he slipped away, he saw a smiling blonde with sea green eyes grace his sight. Axel could only wonder for a minute why he was looking at the blonde and why his heart was jumping in his chest before those mesmerizing eyes danced him to sleep.

---------------------------

Once again Demyx woke up to find himself in the white room, this time, however, familiar voices had awoken him. He blinked rapidly to clear the fuzz around his vision and grinned.

"Hey guys. Long time no see."

"You bet it's been a long time, you ass. You've been out for a whole day," Larxene shrieked as she walked over from where she had been sitting on a floral print couch. "You're so lucky you're already hurt or I may have killed you already."

Demyx grinned and shook his head slightly only to grimace when that sent a jolt of pain up his spine. He looked up at Marluxia, Larxene and Luxord, all of whom were gathered in his room.

"Where are the two goons?"

"With Sora and Roxas," Luxord answered. You gave us all a good scare when the hospital called the school and the school called us saying you four were in the hospital. Just because you are doing field work doesn't mean you have the right to go and ram into a tree."

"Sorry, it wasn't our fault. A group of those shadow things from before attacked us while we were driving back. By the way, is Zex awake yet?"

Before any of them could answer, a muffled voice reached them.

"I'm awake, and who the hell gave you permission to use a nickname with me?"

Demyx laughed a little and pushed himself farther up in bed. He looked to his left and his eyes met the bleary eyes of the smaller teen. "I think being in a car crash and almost dying with you gives me that right."

Zexion groaned and fell farther back into his bed.

"Oh, Doamne, ce s-a întâmplat? Care au fost cele de lucruri şi de ce, în numele tuturor că este bine ti-au facut de mine?"

The others in the room chose to ignore his mutterings and turned back to Demyx.

"You gave us a real scare, man," Marluxia said, kneeling down next to the blonde.

"Sorry. It's not like we meant to hit the tree, even Sora isn't that stupid."

"Maybe we should stop this investigation."

Demyx just stared at the girl who had spoken, mouth agape; even Zexion got up on his elbows to stare at Larxene. She had come to stand by Marluxia and wrapped her arms around her torso. She actually looked… scared?

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked dangerously.

"All I mean is that maybe this investigation isn't worth it if it's going to get us landed in the hospital."

Demyx narrowed his green eyes as he stared at the man before him. "We do not give up when we get on a case. So we got a little hurt, that doest mean I'm going to stop." He crossed his arms and hardened his glare. "What are you even doing here anyway? What time is it?"

His question only seemed to anger the blonde girl and her eyes turned hard and livid.

"What are we doing here? What do you think we are doing here you block head?" she shrieked, shoving her way past her boyfriend to poke her finger into the other blondes bruised chest. When he cried out in pain, her glare just intensified. "We're your friends idiot and you scared the shit out of us!"

"Its true," Luxord said from the side of Zexion's bed. "I thought Larxene was going to break down into tears when the school told us."

A pink flush flooded the lethal blondes cheeks as she whirled to glare at their British friend. "I did _not _cry," she said hotly.

"Yeah Lux," Marluxia said snaking his hand around the angered blondes waist and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. "She didn't cry when we heard, she cried in the car later, on the drive over, when she thought no one could see her."

"Why you-"

"Can we please stop arguing about Larxene's lack of emotion and get back to the real point!?"

Everyone in the room stopped dead and turned to stare at Zexion. The dark haired male was sitting up in his bed, hair tucked behind his ear with both his eyes staring bullets at everyone in the room.

"We shouldn't be arguing over the fact the little miss 'I cant show any emotion' doesn't want to admit that she loves everyone that is on your guys' team, in fact we shouldn't be arguing at all! Two spirits need our help and we promised them we would give it. I don't know about you, but I keep the promises I make. If you all want to pull out then fine, but I for one am staying on the job. I will do it alone if that's what it comes to."

Zexion's outburst shocked them all. His glare intensified and he crossed his arm over his chest. Demyx cleared his throat and was the first to speak.

"Wow, Zex; that's the most I've ever heard you say. I didn't know you felt so passionately about this. But don't worry, I don't want to quit anymore than you do." Demyx turned away from the smaller boy to glare at his friends. "What he says applies to the both of us and I'm sure it's the same for Sora and Rox. We promised them our help and people like us don't go back on our words. The choice is up to you."

Larxene, eyes glistening, taking on that almost scared look they had held only a minute before; a look few people ever saw on her, turned away and walked out the door. Marluxia sighed and followed her out. He paused at the door and turned to the other three. "You know she's just worried about you guys. She may not seem all that girly but she really does see all of us as her family and she feels like a mom to all of us. After all," he said with a smirk, "she _is _the one who fixes us up when we get hurt. She just doesn't want us to be in danger. I'll talk to her. I really don't know what to do about this but I really don't want to stop." He smiled at the others and ran after his girlfriend.

Luxord sighed and sank into the chair between the two chairs. "Jeez, what are we going to do?" he mumbled mostly into his chest.

Demyx looked over his confused friends head and stared at Zexion. The teen was staring at his hands with wide eyes. He looked as though he had never spoken so strongly about something. Slowly, his hand came up and covered his family crest and his eyes squeezed shut. Tired of the deafening silence, Demyx decided it was time for answers.

"So what did you guys find out?"

"Hm?" Glazed over baby blues slowly found their way to Demyx's own green eyes.

"Your research. What did you find out?"

"Oh, that. Well, we did find out about a school shooting at the campus about four years ago. That was the most recent case we could find where a spirit could have stayed behind. We also found a case where a father killed his wife and two children for the insurance money about a month before the shooting. Those two were the most recent. The last one was actually a missing persons case. A man named Xehanort went missing about the same time of the shooting."

Demyx grinned at his platinum blonde headed friend. "You don't have to look any farther. I'm pretty sure the two guys from the shooting are our ghosts."

"How did you know there were two?"

"Because we met them," Demyx answered him simply. "And you will never guess the weirdest part. Though, we should probably wait for everyone to be together before we drop that bomb on you."

Luxord nodded, though he looked intrigued at the new findings. His musings were interrupted when Zexion's quiet voice broke through the silence.

"How are the others? How's Roxas? A-and Sora of course, how are they?" He looked worried but seemed like he was trying his best to over it up.

"I'm not sure. Xaldin and Xigbar are in with them. I could go check. Be right back gents." As he stood up, he sent Demyx a quizzical look, which Demyx just waved off. Shrugging, Luxord exited the room and turned into the one next door.

Inside, Demyx was secretly happy over the younger boys worry for Roxas. The two seemed to be getting along better than either he or Sora had imagined.

"I'm sure he's okay," he reassured the other.

"He better be," he muttered darkly. Slowly, he turned his eyes to Demyx. "Thank you for stinking up for me back there. I would feel really bad if we left Axel and Riku high and dry."

"Yeah. At least they already found some information on them. We can start much faster. Although," he said, glaring down at his body, which was still covered with the scratchy white hospital sheet, "we may not be going back there for a while."

Zexion snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'm going back tomorrow no matter what any doctor says."

Demyx glared at his friend. "I know you're anxious to help them but you have to think. As of right now, we are too weak to do any good. Plus, we can't just waltz out of here! What if there is something really wrong with one of us. No doctor is just going to let you pull that IV out of your arm and let you waltz off. And, now that we know the others have an idea of what we are looking at, I think we should get more info before we go back."

Zexion's eyes grew cold and he huffed, sinking back into his pillow with his arms crossed. Justas Demyx was about to open hi mouth to speak again; a woman in a white coat came in carrying a clipboard. She looked up from the paper and saw that they two were awake. She smiled a bit and wrote another note on her paper.

"Hello boys," she said, not taking her eyes off the paper. "I'm Tifa, your nurse. The doctor will be right it to answer any questions you may have." She looked up at them and her smile widened. "While I'm in here, are you two feeling alright? Do you need any pain medication?"

Demyx shook his head, mumbling something along the lines of him being fine.

"And you?" she asked, turning her attention to Zexion.

"No, what I need is to be let out," he answered chillingly.

"Well, I can't really do anything there," she laughed. "But, your doctor can. She should be here very soon."

"Oh, a little sooner than that I would think."

All heads in the room turned to the door where a soft and comforting voice had come from. In the doorway stood a young woman with warm brown hair and gentle eyes. She was also carrying a clipboard and took a few notes down before entering the room.

"Hello, My name is Dr. Aerith, your head doctor. It's wonderful to actually meet you when you're awake." She smiled and came to stand between them. She nodded to Tifa and took her notes before dismissing the nurse.

"Excuse me, Dr. Aerith?" Demyx said, lifting his hand a bit.

"Yes Demyx?"

"When do you think we will be released? We were kind of in the middle of something very important when we were in the accident and it's prudent we get back to it as quickly as possible."

Aerith laughed, a light tinkling sound that lightened the mood in the entire room. "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you will be out of here by tomorrow the latest."

"Not before that?"

"I'm sorry boys. You took some serious damage, all four of you. The earliest I can let you out would be tomorrow. Your friends Sora hasn't even woken up yet. I'm sorry but you seem to have failed to understand how badly you were injured." Aerith's warm eyes turned steely. "So I suggest you stay put until I come back with your test results." She looked at the charts at the ends of their beds, took some notes, smiled at them and left.

"Great," Zexion said throwing his hands in the air. "We already missed today and now we're going to miss tomorrow too. Just great."

Demyx quirked his lips at the glowering teen. "I think I liked it better when you didn't talk much." Zexion glared at him before glaring at the wall.

"I just want out of here. My family isn't big on this whole hospital thing. I mean sure, we go when there is dire need but other than that, we just use natural remedies. If nature wanted us to get better, it would have provided what we needed. I guess I'm just not comfortable here." He crossed him arms and yawned.

Demyx smiled and yawned as well. "Why don't we just sleep? The time will pass more quickly." Zexion yawned and closed his eyes.

"I guess that would help. We need to have all our strength when we get out."

Demyx chuckled under is breath and snuggled under his own blankets.

The two were asleep in minutes, neither of them noticing when their friends came back in. They all just smiled at each other and slowly backed out of the room; their verdict could wait.

-----------------------

"No!" Axel shot up from where he had been lying on the couch and he put his hands over his heart. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his face with the other.

"What was that about?" Riku mumbled as he slowly sat up. "Did you have to shout my ear off?"

"I don't know. I just saw Demyx and the others. They were out in the woods and Omega found them. He was torturing them Ri!"

" Axel, Omega can't get to them. I'm sure he has other things to worry about."

Axel glared at his friend. "Surprisingly that doesn't make me feel much better."

"Look, it was just a nightmare. I don't even understand why you are getting so worked up about this. They're just the means to a bigger goal, us being free of Xemnas."

"Don't talk about him that way!" Axel shouted. He flew from his seat and ran towards Riku, punching him smartly across the face when he reached him. Riku stumbled backwards, holding his cheek.

"What the hell, Axel! What was that for?"

"You talked bad about him!"

"About who?"

"Demyx! You said he was only the means of something! He's so much more than that."

Riku reined his balance then stared at Axel quizzically. "Did you, did you fall for him?"

Axel closed his eyes and fell to his knees. "Maybe, yes, I don't know."

Riku sank down beside his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Axel, why did you do that? You can't fall for a living guy? Its only going to cause you pain. Think about it. You can't even look at your sister without feeling pain, how are you going to be able to work beside him without feeling pain. Also, think about what this will do to him." Axel gave a pitiful cry in the back of his throat and he sank even lower.

"What if he falls in love with you too, as out there as it may be. What will happen when you and I move on? Do you think you could deal with hurting him that much? That's why I'm keeping myself distant; so I know I wont hurt anyone else."

"I can't do that, Ri. That's why I wanted him to give the case up. Then I wouldn't be putting him in danger."

"He wants to help, Ax, there's nothing you could do. All you _can _do is hope he wont catch on."

Riku helped haul Axel to his feet. "Why don't you rest up some more?" He smiled saucily at the distraught red head. "After all, you have to save your prince charming from the shadows."

Axel glared at his silver haired best friends and elbowed him in the ribs. "Shut up."

Riku laughed and pushed his friend down onto the couch again. Axel looked up as Riku kept walking towards the wall.

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, I just have one little thing to do before sleeping tonight."

Riku grinned and walked through the door. Axel leaned back into the couch, and watched him leave. Something was weird about him today. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and leaned back, falling asleep almost instantly. What he didn't see was the tortured look that painted itself across Riku's face as he walked out.

--------------------------

The lights were dimmed when he walked into the room. The two boys were asleep in their separate beds, a monotone beeping sound resounding through the room.

Slowly he made his way to the bed near the window, the one playing host to the slight brunette. He reached to let his hand ghost over his cheek; wishing with all that was within him that he could actually reach out and touch him. The smaller boy shifted on his bed, his head going straight through the older ones hand. Pain welled up in his heart when he though about all the danger this boy was going to be put in because of him.

Slowly, he leaned down and put his face right next to the smaller one. "I'm so sorry, Sora," he said, his icy breath flowing across the brunettes soft features.

Bright cerulean eyes fluttered open the smallest amount as the sudden chill. Slightly cloudy and unfocused, they looked like the eyes of a sleepwalker. Even though he couldn't see it with his real eyes, Riku could see the stunning blue orbs in his mind. He could feel something in his chest swell just knowing that the smaller boy was alive.

The blue eyes fell closed again with Sora never fully haven woken up.

The silverette straightened up and looked at him one final time before turning to leave the room.

"I'm so sorry," Riku repeated, hoping the brunette could hear him. "Please forgive me."

With a final sorrowful glance, he ghosted through the wall and out into the warm summer night.

End Chapter Six

* * *

**Please dont hate me for bringing Lucifer into this. i swear i mean nothing by it. its just a means to get the plot going. not really ever going to mentioned again. **

**religious arguments aside...**

**what do you think? so before i get a million questions about Riku's seeing thing, lemme clear this up. he was like Demyx in life, where he could see ghosts and such and that mental ability carried on into the next life where he can see with his mind, vaguely and only when he chooses to. **

**well, please review. flames are welcomed. so it critique and anything else really.**


	7. Feelings of Hopelessness

**A/N: im back!!! wow it has been MONTHS since i have updated this... but im back now and i hope this chapter was worth the wait.... and look! its nice and long... a whole fricken 11 pages in word... so you can see somewhat why these chapter take me so long to write. anyway, i hope this chap meets expectations and was worth waiting. **

**thanks to everyone who added this to faves or reviewed or put me or this story on alert. love you guys to pieces!**

**Disclaimer: not mine. kingdom hearts=not mine. a haunting= not mine. ghost adventurers= not mine. happy. good. so dont sue me**

**onward! please enjoy, or hate, or be indifferent. just please read!**

* * *

The four investigators were released from the hospital around five in the afternoon two days later. All of them were sick of being cooped up in the hospital and anxious to greet the day, well evening, before them. They listened to their doctor tell them not to do anything strenuous and to basically relax the next week or so. They wanted all of them to come back to the hospital the moment they felt something was off; they were releasing them a few days earlier than they would have liked to due to an enraged Professor De Borge who had rampaged through the hospital demanding to know why his only active team had not shown up to class the previous day.

Needless to say, De Borge was a large investor in the hospital and had paid for much of their advanced technology. Rather than anger the man more, the doctors had assured him that his precious team would be released the following day. He had demanded they be let out that very day, the day after they had been emitted but Dr. Aerith had put her foot down, refusing to let them out. Sora had only woken up that morning and she wanted to make sure they were sound.

So, the group had to wait a miserable day in the disturbingly white hospital, each dreaming of their release.

When that time had finally arrived, they could barely sit still as they were wheeled out the main doors and released. The four bolted out from their wheelchairs and ran for the path that would lead them to away from the campus hospital and towards Main Street.

"Freedom!" Sora cried, actually falling to his knees in an attempt to hug the ground. Roxas looked at Zexion and the two of them shook their heads at the hyper brunette. Demyx, however, found it amusing and laughed lightly as he hauled the shorter teen to his feet.

"Lets get back to our dorm room and call the others. We have _a lot _to talk about."

Sora nodded, his now limp brunette spikes flopping into his face. With a grim smile, he turned to his best friend. "Can we shower before we go meet them or they meet us? I'm feeling a little more than disgusting."

"Of course, So. I just want them to know we're out and that we need to talk about some things Axel said in the hospital."

Sora stared at Demyx, wide eyed. "They came see you?"

Demyx nodded. "Axel did. He wasn't too keen on us staying on the investigation, said he didn't want us to get hurt or something to that degree."

"So he basically said the same thing that Larx and the others said?"

Demyx nodded. He and Zexion had filled the others in on what had happed between the members of the team when Sora had finally woken up.

The friends made their way down the street, each lost in their own thoughts, when Sora broke the silence.

"When do you think we should go back to the cabin?"

Demyx shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe we should wait until we get more information about the shooting from Larx and the others."

"No."

Everyone looked at Zexion, who had been walking with Roxas behind the older two. His face was dark, his eyes held little room for opposition.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, putting hand on the other teens arm. "Surely it's better to go into a situation with as much information as possible."

Zexion shook his head. "This isn't about research of even fighting the opposing sprits. This is about making sure that they are safe. We don't know what happened to them after Axel left two days ago. For all we know, Xemnas caught up with them and did something terrible to them. We need to make sure that the people we are fighting to protect are still around _to_ protect."

Demyx considered this and looked at Sora, who merely shrugged and looked at his brother.

Roxas looked at Zexion's set face and seeing the resolve there knew there wasn't really much anyone to say to deter him.

Sighing, the blonde removed his hand from his friends arm. At the loss of contact Zexion looked at him curiously.

"You win," Roxas said. He smiled up at Zexion before continuing. "We'll do it your way. But first, can we _please _go back to the dorms. I really need a shower and some real food before I do _anything._"

"I second the motion," Sora said, walking over to drape an arm around his younger brother.

The three looked expectantly at Demyx who merely shrugged. However, the four were sent into uncontrolled spurts of laughter when Demyx's stomach gurgled its protests.

"I guess you have your answer then, mates." He waltzed over and draped his arm around Zexion and pulled their band forward down the path that would eventually lead them to Main Street. Hurriedly, Roxas wrapped his arm around Zexion's waist so as not to be left behind.

When they were a few yards down the path Zexion suddenly stopped, forcing the rest to skid to a hasty stop as well, forcing Demyx and Roxas to collide rather painfully. The shock sent Demyx reeling backwards and into Sora, causing them both to fall in a jumbled heap on the ground. Roxas would have met a similar fate had Zexion not reached out to grab him with his good right arm.

"What was that about Zex?" Demyx grumbled from the ground. He hauled Sora to his feet and the disgruntled brunette rubbed his lower back, complaining that the compacted dirt was an ultimate evil.

"Well," the silverette started, still clinging to Roxas, "in all the excitement of being released we seem to have forgotten something. We have no car. How on earth are we supposed to get around now? This campus is huge!"

"He's right you know," Roxas said from Zexion's arms. "Without Stacey, we really have no way to get around."

Zexion looked down at him and a faint pink dusted his cheeks when he realized the position the two were in. He hastily released the blonde and scooted a few steps away.

Roxas looked slightly forlorn with the loss of his friend but quickly continued.

"How are we going to get all the way to Rodney and get you guys to Smyth?"

Seemingly unaware of their younger teammates' discomfort, the elder two, looked at each other. How were they supposed to get around? Sora had a car, but it was back at the dorm.

"The bus system?" Sora suggested with a wince.

Demyx shrugged. "It may be our only option."

Sora's shoulder sagged a bit at his friend's words. "I guess you're right."

"What's wrong with the bus system?" Roxas asked, coming up beside his brother. "Its just a bus."

"True, but buses are always uncomfortably crowded and expensive," Demyx answered. "Most college kids try to avoid it if they can."

"Well, we have no other choice so the bus it is."

Sighing, Demyx and Sora guided the younger men down a path branching from the main. It wasn't a too well kept path, what with the dense trees hanging over the chipped bricks and leaves spilling over their shoes, but it was the fastest way to get to the bus stop.

Just minutes later, the four emerged, leaf covered and slightly light sensitive, onto a stretch of sidewalk set aside as a student bus stop.

Roxas and Zexion sat down on one of the three benches rested on the red-brown bricks while Demyx and Sora consulted the bus schedule posted on the side of the bench overhang.

"Uh, Demyx?"

"Yeah?"

"What day is it?"

Demyx started then turned to look at his companion.

"Huh. Good question. Well, lets see. The accident was on Monday, wasn't it?" Sora nodded. "Okay. So we woke up in the hospital on Tuesday, stayed through Wednesday and were released today so it's Thursday if I'm not mistaken."

"Wow. Me missed the first week of classes," Sora sighed. "Oh well. It's only the first day, we wont be that far behind."

Demyx hummed before turning back to the bus schedule. "It looks like the next but is about…" he paused to look at his Rolex, "six minutes." He turned to Sora and they joined the others on the bench. "Well guys, the next bus is in six minutes. Think you guys can wait that long?"

"Don't worry. I think we'll survive," Zexion said sarcastically.

Roxas snorted slightly at the others remark and slouched in his seat, deciding to get comfortable for what little time he could, leaning lightly against the stoic young man's side. A faint flush was barely visible on the Wicca's cheek but none the less, he leaned almost imperceptibly into the blonde beside him.

Catching each other's eyes, Demyx and Sora traipsed over to the farthest bench where Sora collapsed in a heap, a smile flitting over his features but not quite concealing the worry deep in his baby blues. Demyx sighed and sad on the arm of the blue bench, his feet planted on the seat, near Sora's own.

"What's wrong Sora?"

Sora lifted his head and supported his body with his elbows so he could stare Demyx down.

"When you look at Roxas and Zexion, what do you see?"

"I see two young men both looking for someone to accept and love them. I see two guys trying to find their purpose." He shrugged. "What do you want me to see?"

Sora let his body plop back onto the bench and covered his eyes with his hands.

"I don't know, Dem. I don't know. I mean, I can see he's happy, but for how long? How long until he gets hurt again?"

Demyx propped his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his fist.

"I don't know, Sora. But shouldn't you be happy that he has a good friend? And that they are already close? Instead of trying to control him so he 'doesn't get hurt', why don't you trust him to know what's good for himself?"

"But what if this isn't good for him?"

Demyx shook his head before staring Sora down, knowing the boy could feel his gaze.

"Sora. That isn't really for you to decide. And it's not like Zexion can up and leave him, they are in the same research team. Unless he drops the class, which I doubt he will, Zexion can't leave Roxas."

Demyx's comment made Sora bolt into an upright position, nearly ramming into Demyx. His eyes darkened as they bored into the blonde's own sea green orbs.

"I know it's not for me to decide. But that doesn't mean I can't care." Suddenly, his eyes softened and he shook his head before looking back up at Demyx.

"Do you really think I only meant Zexion walking out on him like Olette and Pence did? I'm talking more along the lines of Hayner. What we do is dangerous; you know that. I don't want Roxas to go through that pain again."

Demyx sighed, finally understanding where the elder brother was coming from.

"I understand, Sora. But regardless, you can't keep worrying about him. You have to let him find things out for himself. Plus," he said, resting his hand on his best friends shoulder, "that's why we have to research before we get any farther into this, and we should probably go through some info with De Borge. We have to make sure we know what we're up against so we don't have to worry about leaving each other, so we don't have to worry about this happening again."

"I suppose," the brunette sighed. He looked around him, taking in the beautiful green trees lining the various paths and the stunning blue sky. It didn't seem possible that just days ago they had been attacked by demonic beings.

The sound of screeching breaks alerted the four that the bus had arrived. They quickly pulled spare money out from their pockets to pay the fare. They clambered down the isle and were relieved to find four seats together. Seeing as most students were in class, the bus was sparsely populated.

Demyx chose a seat next to a window and watched as the green trees and old brick building flew by, blending together into a stream of color. Demyx spent the next fifteen minutes lost in thought about the new case.

How on earth were they supposed to fight these forces? Could they even do it? What would happen to everyone if they failed?

Would Riku and Axel be alright? Would they survive?

Demyx shook himself when a cold feeling of dread filled his chest at the thought of the red head vanishing. Why did he feel like he had to protect the ghost no matter what the cost to himself?

Demyx thought on the odd sensation in his chest until the bus cam to a stop near Smyth Hall. He vaguely felt Sora pushing him out of his seat and off the bus, and he knew he was walking up to their room, but he couldn't get his mind off the red headed spirit.

By the time he was in his room and laying on his bead, Demyx had come to the conclusion that he was just worried over a spirit that needed his help. That was all.

With a somewhat calmer mind, Demyx grabbed and change of clothes and his shampoo and headed off to the bathroom.

There was nothing a nice, warm shower couldn't fix.

* * *

That same day, same time to be exact, just an hour's drive out of town, Axel was laying on the old sofa in the old cottage, watching delicate dust specks dance through the sparkling shafts of golden evening sunlight that poured through the trees of the forest and into the window.

Why was he doing something so pointless that he could feel himself losing brain cells?

Simple.

He was bored as Hell.

No. Correction. Hell was probably more exciting than this.

In all four years of his ghost-hood, Axel had never appreciated how exciting life was and how deathly boring, well, death was.

Sure, it had its somewhat exciting moments (if you could call them that) such as running for your life whilst being hunted down by a very powerful demon bent on destroying you. But other than that? Boring.

It is true, however, that when Axel and his best friend had first found themselves in this state, they had been slightly, not excited per se, but intrigued. Oh, it sucked to be dead alright, but many peoples philosophies told that death was just another exciting adventure for humans to get through. Several authors had written that and being the studious English majors they were, or had been, they two young men had eaten those philosophies up.

Obviously, those men had never been dead before.

This was not an adventure. Whatever sort of limbo they had found themselves in was definitely not Axel's or Riku's definition of the great adventure. Maybe if they had actually had a chance to move on to wherever people are supposed to go when they die, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe they would be in the middle of a great adventure, not running for whatever sort of lives they had left. Fighting to protect those he cared so desperately about.

Groaning, Axel flung his arm across his face, shutting out the rays of sun. If only he could shut his thoughts out as effectively as the sunlight.

Axel heaved his body into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. He had been laying on that couch all day, as he seemed to do everyday. He was ready for a change.

He looked around the room, trying to find something to amuse himself with. The Wicca cabin had nothing that held his interest. Some books here, candles there and statuettes scattered around those. In short, nothing.

Sure his English and literature seeking mind had made him want to try and read the books but he had soon found that to be impossible. He had to focus so much of his energy on keeping his hands, (muscle, bones, skin, nerves, everything) solid enough to hold the book that he couldn't focus on what he was reading.

In fact, he and Riku had been having that problem a lot recently. They had always been able to hold and touch things as long as they were inanimate, however it used up a lot of energy. They had to concentrate impossibly hard on trying to keep their hands and arms completely solid and they could only keep it up for a few minutes at most.

But, disturbingly, they had been able to it less and less as the years passed. Axel himself could barely hold a pen for more than five minutes.

With a sigh of defeat, Axel stood and began pacing in front of the couch, grabbing his bright red hair, grasping for anything to break the boredom.

He paused and looked out the window behind the couch. Beyond the panes, he could see the mysterious and majestic forest outside. Sunlight flitted through the dense trees and shadows danced around the trunks.

Axel frowned. Shadows. It was hard to believe that hidden among those harmless shadows, real dangers existed. Dangers that hunted and destroyed the ones he loved.

Still staring out the window, the forest melted away and a smiling blonde took its place. Sea green eyes stared back at him, smiling at some unheard joke. Just the sight of the blonde happy made Axel's hear soar.

Suddenly, the picture in his minds eye changed. He saw Demyx strapped to a stretcher, bleeding from several injuries. He saw him lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to too many machines. He saw a blonde woman and blonde man, hovering over the frail looking boy, clutching his hands, begging him to wake up. He heard a high keening beep as the heart monitor flat lined. Finally, with tears threatening to spill over his lids and a knife twisting in his chest, the redhead saw a grassy knoll and a slate head marker bearing the name Demyx, surrounded by flowers and dotted with a gentle rain.

Axel tore his eyes from the window, banishing the though of Demyx dead. He squeezed his eyes shut and raked his hands through his hair. Slowly, he brought his arms down and let his head fall against his slim chest. He leaned heavily against the window, unable to feel its chill against his transparent skin.

"Hey. Why the long face?"

Axel lifted his eyes and glared at the silver haired teen standing at the mouth of the nearby hallway.

"What do you want Ri?" he asked, pulling himself to his feet.

"Nothing," he said, leaning against the wall. "Just came out to make sure you weren't dying or anything, what with all the sighing and groaning." He raised a silver eyebrow and looked squarely at his friend. "What's up?"

"I just wish there was something we could to help the team," the redhead said, furrowing his short red brows. He walked around to the front of the couch and collapsed onto it, focusing just enough energy to keep from phasing through. "They are doing so much to help us and the only thing we are doing is sitting on our asses and getting attacked."

"Well what do you suggest, Axel?" Riku asked, moving to stand in front of him. "We're dead remember."

Axel rolled his eyes. "I course if haven't forgotten, nimrod. But just look around you! We're surrounded by Wicca books. Who's to say one of these cant help?"

Riku sighed and sat down with a silent thud on the dusty wood floor next to the couch. In his minds eye he could see the dusty tomes and rich leather bindings that held wonderful secrets and locked away treasures. He could see the dark oak shelves, thick with dust, which screamed for someone to take notice and share in the plethora of knowledge.

"Axel," he sighed, "we've tried this before, despite how strong willed we may have been in life we don't have the strength right now to hold a book, not to mention turn the pages while holding it."

"We can think of something. We have to! There has to be something in those books that can help us."

"You need to calm down and think, Ax. They are Wiccan books. Even if we found something even remotely useful, what are we supposed to do? We can't practice Wicca seeing as we are dead and whatever we find, I'm sure Zexion already knows."

Axel jumped up and fell to his knees in front of Riku. He grabbed his friend shoulders and shook him forcefully.

"I am not going to sit here and do nothing!" he shouted.

His bright green eyes were wide with fear and his face was pale causing his dark tattoos to stand out more than usual. "I feel so useless."

The redhead dropped his arms and hung his head. His long hair fell over his shoulders and blocked his pained face from view. He was the very image of defeat and hopelessness.

"I'll never forgive myself if they get hurt for something we should have known."

Riku's lips quirked up in a dry smile, finally understanding; he knew the desperation Axel was feeling. He felt it too.

"I know how you feel," he said, putting his hand on Axel's shoulder.

"I doubt it," Axel mumbled miserably.

"Really? Let's see." Riku leaned back and started ticking points off on his fingers.

"You feel like a white-hot knife is being stabbed through your heart every time you imagine him hurt. Every time you close your eyes you see him mangled and destroyed because of something you overlooked and seeing that makes you want to die all over again in the most painful way possible. When you think back to that accident, you remember that empty feeling that filled you; how you thought the whole world would end if you didn't see him open his eyes once more."

"Stop, Riku," Axel said weakly. He closed his eyes and slumped farther, seeming to shrink.

"I'm not finished." Riku's face softened and his tone quieted. "But it's not all that bad, is it? When he smiles, you feel your whole world light up. When you found out he was alive, you felt like you could breathe again, you felt like you heart was beating again. You see? I understand more than you know."

"Then you should know how much it hurts to know that you can't be with him. You should know how much I want to help so that I can be sure he'll be safe when all this is done and we leave." Axel looked up and stared at Riku's face, hoping his message was getting through.

"You should want to help as much as I do. You should want this to work as much as I do."

"I do, trust me, I do," Riku said desperately. "But I don't want us to be disappointed if nothing comes up or if nothing works."

"But we wont know if we don't try," Axel said sternly, "We have to try."

The taller man stood and pulled Riku to his feet. He dragged his best friend over to the closest shelf and held him there as he scanned the titles. Most were in foreign languages but there were a fair few in English and even some on French, which Riku happened to be fluent in.

Axel finally selected a large leather bound book bearing the name, The Other Side. 

"Hey, Ri? I think I may have found one."

"Great," Riku said sarcastically. "Now how do you suggest we get it off the shelf?"

"I was working on that, Mr. Impatience. Let's see. Maybe combined we have enough energy to hold it and at least get it onto the floor."

"It may work," Riku said slowly. He put a pale hand under his chin. "Well we may as well try it."

Axel's face lit up, his stunning eyes filling with new hope. "Do you need me to show you where the book is?"

Riku made a sour face at that. "Since when have I ever needed your help to see, hedgehog head?"

"Just checking," Axel smirked.

Shaking his head, Riku stepped toward the shelves, reaching out with his mind. Behind his ruined eyes, the silver haired teen could see the gleaming wooden shelves and the dusty, old tomes. He quickly scanned the spines, trying to locate the correct one.

"It's this one, right?" he asked, pointed to the thick leather book.

"That's it," Axel laughed. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Shut up and lets try this theory of yours." Axel nodded and scooted closer to his friend. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused all his energy into his hands.

It was an odd sensation, the feeling of your body being slowly sloughed away and your hands becoming solid again.

'It's almost like being alive,' Axel though wistfully.

Very carefully and very slowly, the two brought their hands closer and closer to the book. Scowling in concentration, Axel opened his eyes and stared at the book and their hands. It was odd to see their hands looking substantial.

'So close,' he thought. He wrapped his hands around the spine of the book and he felt Riku close his hand on the book right below his.

He turned to his side and nodded to Riku, knowing the other could see him in his mind, and together they grasped the book and pulled. Axel gasped slightly when the book slipped from its shelf and together the boys carried it across the room to a small coffee table set up by the couch.

Axel could feel his energy waning and by the look on Riku's pale face, he was almost spent as well. Carefully and quickly, the teens dropped the heavy book onto the table and collapsed beside it in two ungraceful, panting heaps. Axel felt his concentration slip away and his form returned to normal; his whole body looking somewhat solid, as if seen in the mist. He looked to his side and saw that Riku had returned to normal as well.

"Well," Axel started, still breathing raggedly, "that was certainly interesting."

Riku laughed weakly and propped himself up on his arms. "It certainly was. I really didn't think we'd be able to do it."

Axel sighed and pushed himself to his knees and peered at the book. "Well now its on the floor, how do we read it?"

Riku stared at his friend with a black face. "I thought you figured that out?"

Axel grinned cheekily at his friend, his cat eyes bright. "Oh contraire my silver haired friend. I said I was working on how to get the book off the shelf, never did I mention how to read it."

Riku sighed and glared at his friend. "In other words, you were going to leave that part to me, right?"

"Aww, I always knew you were smart," Axel said, reaching over to pinch Riku's cheek.

Riku glowered and swatted his hand away, before leaning down to study the book.

"Well, obviously we don't have the energy to hold it for extended periods of time, and even holding it for the brief moments of flipping the pages would slowly drain us from having to flip the pages so often. So we need to figure out a way to do it without actually touching the pages."

The two teens sat in pensive silence for a few minutes before Axel suddenly jumped to his feet, his eyes bright with excitement.

"I've got it!"

Riku looked up at him curiously. "Well you gonna tell me any time soon?"

"Patience, Ri, I was getting there. Do you remember those ghost shows we watched when we were in middle school?"

"You mean, The Haunting and Ghost Adventurers?"

"The very ones. Now, do you remember when stuff would move seemingly on its own, like curtains would rustle and other things?"

"Yeah, but I don't see where you are going with this. We used to be able to do the same stuff before we started to get weaker three years ago, just by using our power. But you know that that's been getting weaker seeing as we cant even take a solid form anymore for very long."

Axel shook his head, causing his fiery red spikes to swing. "You're just not getting it are you? Not all of those things had to be caused by power alone from a powerful ghost. Remember when they went over the readings in those shows? Most of the them proved that the spirits were relatively weak and harmless."

"And your point?" Riku inquired, raising a thin silver eyebrow.

"My point is, that it could have been caused by them physically. You know how sometimes they would see a shadow of a hand? Maybe the spirits had enough energy to make their hands somewhat solid, not all the way, and they did something that caused the air to flow just right and it made the curtains move. Who says we cant do something like that?"

Riku looked at his friend as though he had grown two heads.

Axel shifted uncomfortably in his spot, before glaring at his friend. "What!?"

"That's the second smart thing you've said today. What's happened to you?"

Sighing, the taller teen shook his head, before sitting down beside Riku again. "Call it love if you want to. I guess seeing people I care about in danger activates the brain cells that have been dormant my whole life." Chuckling, he punched the silverette lightly in the arm.

"Well, shall we?"

"I suppose," Riku nodded. "So all you want us to do is get our hand just solid enough to disturb the air?"

"Well, not for this first part," Axel admitted, eyeing the thick cover. "But since its just the cover one of us should be able to do it easily. Lemme see."

With that, Axel furrowed his brow and reached toward the book. Again, he focused all his energy into his right hand, smirking when he saw and felt it get a tad bit more substantial. He gripped the edge of the thick, brown cover and flipped it open with a flick of his wrist.

The cover clacked against the wood floors and opened to the table of contents. Satisfied, Axel leaned back on his hand and grinned at Riku.

"There ya go, Ri. Your turn."

Riku rolled his eyes before leaning over the book. He reached his right hand out, focusing some of his energy there, just enough to make it barely solid, it took barely any effort and he didn't feel drained at all.

Staring at the book, he lowered his hand to just over the first page and flicked his hand at the edge, causing the corner to pick up from the slight breeze. Eyes brightening slightly, Riku quickly flicked his hand again, and once more causing the page to turn all the way.

He looked up and met Axel's eyes, hope swelling in his chest. The look in Axel's own acid green orbs told him Axel felt the same way. They could do this! They could do something to help!

Excitedly, the two bent over the exposed pages, drinking in the knowledge the old tome had to offer.

'Don't worry, Demyx,' Axel though, "with us doing what we can, you'll never be hurt again.'

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**well there ya go. was it worth it? please review or flame... i really could care less. FLAMES WILL BE USED TO BAKE THE RAMEN I SHALL GIVE TO THOSE WHO REVIEW!!!! **

**hehehe. again sorry for the wait but with school ending and then my cruise (which was awesome) and then my family coming to visit then anime expo i have had no time. but fear not. now that i have time i shall try to update somewhat regularly. once every two weeks or once every three. like i said, the chapters are really long and now im working on two fics so its even harder. please just be patient. **

**thanks!!!!!!!!!**


	8. Way Over Our Heads

**author's note: so... im a little late. i cant pretend i have a good reason... i don't. im really sorry to those of you who read this story and wanted the next chapter. IT HERE! *hides behind laptop* don't hurt me!!! **

**thanks to those of you who added this to alert and all that jazz. now ill stop talking... er writing... so you can read! **

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Chapter 8

Three hours passed and the ghosts were several chapters into the large book. Both were fascinated with what they were finding. They had even found a passage that talked about helping benign ghosts channel their energy, making use of their full power. They spent the next hour sitting calmly and meditating, channeling their energy. About forty minutes into the exercises, Axel swore he could feel something coursing through his body. It was warm and comforting.

As Axel went through the final, closing exercises, he felt stronger and more relaxed than he had in the last four years. He opened his eyes and saw Riku rise from his seat across from the red head.

"Well that was certainly interesting." The silverette held out a hand to help Axel stand before going to stand by the window.

"Well? How do you feel?" Axel asked his friend. He kneeled on the couch and stared up at his friend.

"Not too different actually. I expected to feel stronger, more powerful, but I don't." He turned his unseeing eyes away from the window and gazed around the room. "I thought for sure it would work, you know? I felt something. I really did."

"I know, I did too. I suppose we shouldn't expect too much to happen on the first time we try it. Especially since we didn't start when it recommended we do. We should do this twice a day, just like it says; once at dawns first light and at the break of twilight."

Riku shifted on his feet and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Axel stood and walked back to the tall bookcase, peering at it intently. "Hey, Ri? I have an awesome idea. We both felt something, right? So we know this worked, somewhat. Why not try to get another book off the shelf? We can each read one and get twice the information. We can be twice the help!"

Riku smirked and shook his head, swaggering to join his friend. He crossed his arms and stared up at the shelf, using his mind's eye to browse the selection. 'Figures Axel would latch onto anything and use it to try and save Demyx.' He shook his head, suppressing a laugh before sobering.

Wasn't he doing the same thing? When they had found a way to boost their strength he had leapt at the chance to do something to help Sora. He fought to hide the smile that was threatening to make itself known on his lips as he thought about the blue-eyed boy. Sure he barely knew the guy, okay, he didn't know him at all, but he couldn't help the almost magnetic pull he felt towards the younger teen. He couldn't help but feel angry when he was in danger, or feel fear when he knew the brunette wasn't perfectly safe. He couldn't help but let thoughts of him tumble around his mind at all hours of the day. And this was a way to make sure that his fears were never realized, a way to ensure that those blue, blue eyes continued to shine with life.

Riku sighed and clapped Axel on the shoulder. "Alright," he acquiesced. "We'll do this your way." The silverette turned his gaze back to the old books. "So, you see anything that catches your eye?"

Axel grinned at his friend before reading over some of the titles. He frowned as he noticed a solid black, locked tome, the title written in French.

"Hey, Ri, look at this one," he said, pointed out the obsidian colored book. "What does this say?"

Riku followed his friend's hand and tilted his head slightly to read the title. "L'Obscurité, La Lumière; The Dark, The Light. It's written in French." He appraised the book in his mind, taking in the inky black cover, the liquid silver scrollwork, and finally, the deep, darkest of black leather strap that wound around the book, securing it with a dark silver lock.

"There must be something important in this book, something the Wiccan who lived here didn't want others to know. Why else would she keep its pages locked away?"

Axel frowned, silently agreeing with his friend. "Well, if that's the case, then it's certainly worth looking into."

If Riku had been able to, he would have rolled his eyes at his friend's statement. Seeing as he was unable to, he settled for shaking his head, and smacking the redhead upside his own head.

"And how do you propose we do that, genius? It's locked."

Axel stared at his friend, toxic green eyes blank, void of emotion and thought at he ran his friend's words through his head. Realization dawned, then a spark lit his eyes, a cheshire grin stretching across his pale face.

"And I know just how to fix that problem… I think."

That got Riku's attention. He stared at his friend, his brow furrowed. "Oh? Do tell."

Axel licked his lips and rubbed his hands together, his eyes failing to completely hide how worried he was. What if he was wrong? What if they still had nothing to go on?

"Well, remember how in the text, it said that that meditation we did would affect different spirits differently? Depending on what they were like in life?" Riku nodded, waving his hand for Axel to continue. "Well, maybe it worked to our advantage here. When you were meditating, what did it feel like? And how are you different now?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean," Riku stated, his brow furrowed in thought,

"Well, it's like this. Towards the end of the practice, I felt something surge through me. I felt as though I were more powerful, and stronger, not only in my abilities as a ghost but also in my body. Then I got to thinking; I was an athlete while I was alive!"

Riku gave a small, unbelieving laugh and sank down to the floor. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious mister star track and basketball player. What does this have to do with anything!?"

Axel glared at his friend halfheartedly before hauling him to his feet.

"I was getting to that. As I was saying, the meditation affects us based on what we used to be and I think I know what it did to me." The taller teen took a deep breath before continuing. "I think that, not only did it heighten whatever ghostly powers I possess, but I think it also heightened my strength, or my ability to become solid and handle things. I feel as though I could rip the lock right off that book!"

Riku raised a lone silver eyebrow at him. "Oh really now."

Axel shifted uncomfortably in place. "Well, you don't have to believe me. I just feel like this is right." He placed his hands on Riku's shoulders and stared at him, his gaze burning through the thin, black blindfold covering where Riku's bright teal eyes used to be, knowing full well his friend could feel and see that gaze.

"So, if you were given strength, what could I possibly be given?" Riku bit back a growl and shook Axel's hands off. "I wasn't a star athlete, I was smart, but not super smart. What did I have that was special?"

"Are you really that blind?" Axel shouted, throwing his hands up. "Can you really have forgotten your past that quickly? How could you forget something that was so much a part of you?"

Riku quirked an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders. "How can I answer your question until I actually know what you're talking about?"

"ARGH!" Axel growled at the ceiling. He grabbed Riku's shoulders and shook him. "You. Have. Extra. Sensory. Abilities!" he shouted, emphasizing each word with a good shake. "You had trippy mind abilities! Remember? Seeing other ghosts, that freaky ability to seem to know what others were thinking even though you couldn't read their minds! Are you so dense that you forgot already!?"

Riku stared at his friend blankly for a second before his mouth popped open in a little O. Axel grumbled something about how slow his friend was being before shoving him away.

Riku continued to stare straight ahead, trying to wrap his brain around the fact that he had forgotten something so huge.

"Huh. I guess four years as a pessimistic, the-glass-is-half-empty ghost can take a toll on your memory," he said finally. His gaze rose to meet Axel's before he continued. "So you think that since I had these, shall we call them gifts, this meditation ceremony thing could have enhanced them even more?"

"And he finally gets it. Seriously Riku, I'd say getting shot in the head knocked some of those brain cells clean out of you." The tall redhead laughed before sobering and turned to state again at the shelf. Riku joined him, and standing by his side he shook his head, laughing lightly.

"You have a plan to get that French book down here, don't you."

"Of course. Since you are still the pessimist you always were and obviously think we have no hope, one of us has to think of these plans. And why not have it be the genius, gorgeous redhead?" He ducked to avoid the punch aimed at his arm and clapped Riku's arm when he heard the silverette mumble something about conceited know-it-alls. "You wanna hear my idea or are you gonna sit there, grumbling all day."

Riku glared at him, or well, he frowned and his eyebrows furrowed, his blindfolded glare, actually causing a chill to race down Axel's spine. Oh, yes. Riku could be _very _frightening when he wanted to be.

"Get on with it, hedgehog."

Axel laughed nervously at the nickname and faced the shelf, glancing at the annoyed ghost every so often, ready to bolt should he become angered.

"Well, here's what I was thinking. Can you use telekinesis?"

A quizzical look overtook the shorter teens features. He tilted his head to the side, thinking, and tapped his chin with a pale finger. "Maybe," he said finally. "But I don't know. And even if I could, how do I do it? It cant be as simply as wishing an object would move, could it?"

"We wont know 'till we try. That's for sure." Axel took a step back and pushed Riku towards the bookcase. "Can you find the book again? L'Obscurité, La Lumière."

Riku nodded and reached out with his mind, noting that something was different. The images behind his eyelids were much clearer, and he could sense things he couldn't before. He could hear the mouse scurrying through the leaves three feet from the cottage. He could see the spider web delicately draped in the corner of the ceiling. He could see the light flecks of dust floating through the air in the light from the open windows. But most importantly, when he focused hard enough, he could feel the energy coming out of everything around him.

He could feel the power radiating off his companion, the energy from the charms surrounding the house, and he could feel the weak flow of energy from the pages of the books on the shelves. He ascertained that it wasn't all the power of the power of the book itself, but also what was left over from the living tree it had once been. Though the life had been snuffed from its branches, some lingering energy still flowed through the books thick pages.

A plan forming in his head, Riku turned his attention back to his own form, grinning when he felt his own power coursing through him. He slowly raised his right arm, pushing his energy out through his palm, slowly at first, then more quickly as he learned to control its path. Every few inches it would try to span out, and it took all of Riku's concentration to keep it on a straight path.

Finally, after what seemed like years, Riku felt a tingle move up his arm; he had found the books energy. It was heavy and thick, much like the book itself. Riku could feel himself growing exhausted, the amount of energy this was taking was draining him. Quickly, but carefully, Riku wrapped his own energy around that of the book, and began to reel it back in. He was able to pull it in faster than push it out, almost as if his energy was anxious to get back to him.

In a matter of seconds, the book was floating above his outstretched palm. Feeling himself fading, he quickly walked to the table set up in front of the couch and released his hold on the black book. It fell to the surface with a loud, resounding thunk, shaking the table. As the tome fell, Riku collapsed to the floor in a panting heap.

Axel, who was standing a few feet away, stared at his friend in shock. 'I was right,' he thought. 'He did it.'

"You just gonna stand there or are you going to come explain how we are going to open this damn thing."

Riku's exhausted voice shook Axel from his shock and he stumbled over to the still panting teen.

"That was awesome, man! I almost can't believe you just did that."

"Huh, that's rich, coming from the ghost who told me I could do it," Riku huffed. He let his form fall completely flat on the floor as he struggled to get his breath back.

"Well, it was just a guess. I didn't know for sure if it would work." Axel knelt beside the table and peered closely at the lock on the book. Then he looked sideways at the other book occupying the table. Both were large tomes and both wouldn't fit on the table once they were both open.

"Hey, do you have enough energy to push this one," Axel pointed to The Other Side, "off the table?"

Riku lifted his silver head up tiredly and gave Axel a hard look. "Do you want me conscious? It takes a lot of energy to move these things!"

His companion shifted uncomfortably on the floor and looked at Riku with pleading eyes. "It doesn't have to be far! Just one good shove off the table so we can both read. They wont both fit on the table."

Riku stared at the book, his hands and Axel's deep green eyes all in turn before heaving a tired sigh. "Alright," he conceded. He picked himself up and knelt next to Axel. "But I'm stopping if I feel like I'm losing too much."

"Good."

Axel scooted over to give Riku room but stayed close enough that he could help if said ghost collapsed. Once again, Riku raised his arms, palms out and focused on the energy of the book. He figured this time it would be easier since he wasn't attaching to the energy, just pushing against it. When he felt his own aura collide with that of the book, he pushed against it, thrusting his hand out. The book went sailing off the table, onto the floor and Riku slumped sideways, panting hard. Axel reached out and caught him, lowering him gently to the floor.

"Are… you happy… now?" Riku panted, weakly punching his friend's arm. Axel laughed and helped pull him back to his knees.

"Yep," he grinned cheekily. "You don't have to do anything else except wait 'till twilight so we can meditate again and get stronger." He felt Riku collapse into his side again and felt his almost imperceptible nod of gratitude before Riku fell limp and unconscious against his side. Axel set his face and hefted his sleeping friend into his arms and carried him bridal style to the couch where he carefully set him down.

"Alright." Axel turned towards the table and knelt beside it, stating intensely at the locked book. 'How the hell am I supposed to do this!' The redhead raked his fingers through his wildly spiked hair, propping his other hand under his chin as he contemplated his conundrum.

Suddenly, Axel's head flew up as an idea sprang into his mind. A sly grin stretched across his face as he scooted closer and placed his right hand on the table to steady himself. He stretched his left hand out over the book, figuring it would be best to use him dominant hand to break the lock.

His poison green eyes slid shut and he focused all his energy into his arm. He felt power swell somewhere in his chest and pulse out around him, coursing through his body, gathering around his outstretched arm. He could almost feel muscles forming in his arms, bones solidifying, giving him more strength that he had ever housed when he was alive. He opened his exquisite green eyes and stared at his arm, which had taken on an unearthly, almost live glow.

'Now this is more like it!' Axel waved his arm around, watching with almost childlike amusement as the eerie glow followed his arm. Axel shook his head moments later, mentally reminding himself of why he was doing this. Thinking through his options carefully, Axel decided he would simply grab the lock and rip it off.

Satisfied with his plan, Axel stretched his arm out until his hand was hovering over the inky black book. Taking a deep breath, he closed his emerald eyes and concentrated on gathering more energy. He shivered as he felt power course through him, filling him with pure strength. Grinning manically, the tall teen reached down toward the book, ready to close his fist around lock keeping him from valuable information…

When his hand, arm and body ghosted right through the book and table.

Axel's eyes widened in shock and he hurriedly pulled his energy back to his body and he thumped against the floor, staring straight ahead. Riku jerked up from where he was lying and stared at his friend.

"What the hell happened?" He stared at his friend with a blank expression on his face. "What are you doing on the floor?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side, clearly dumbfounded.

Axel grunted and heaved himself up, letting go of his energy so he could slide right up and through the coffee table. "I tried to pick the lock up and just rip it off. As you can see, or well, as you heard, that didn't work so well."

"Why didn't it work?"

"How should I know?" Axel slumped into an ungracefully heap beside the table and glared balefully at the vile book that dared to go against him. 'Just you wait you evil lock bastard,' he cursed at the lock in his mind. 'Just wait till I figure out how to fix this. Then you, my dear, are history!'

"Well, what did you do?" Riku asked slowly.

Axel tore his gaze from his newfound enemy and glanced at Riku out of the corner of his eye. "I focused my energy, my arm glowed and I tried to grab the lock but I fell through the table."

Riku raised a hand to his chin and scratched it, deep in though. "Hmm. What if you can't touch it physically? Like with me, I used my energy to move it. Maybe you have to use your energy to break it, use your energy like an extension of yourself. Do you kinda see what I'm getting at?"

Axel slowly turned his gaze back to the book before nodding slowly. "Yeah, I do. I suppose you want me to try again?" Axel sighed when he saw Riku nod smugly before the exertion of talking and fatigue overtook him and he fell back onto the couch, unconscious. "Figures," he grumbled under his breath.

Once again, Axel took a deep breath and closed his brilliant eyes. Once again, he stretched his left hand out over the book. Once again, he focused his energy and felt the swell of power in his chest that made him feel like he could conquer the world. He felt a surge of power slough through his arm and he didn't need to open his eyes to know that it would again be bathed in that unearthly glow.

However, this time, instead of focusing on his physical arm, he drew his attention to the energy he could feel thrumming around his outstretched arm. He lowered his arm until it was hovering just above the book, grinning when he felt another thrum of energy, much less potent than his own. 'That must be from the book' he thought.

He pushed his own energy out his hand and felt it collide with the other. His calm grin turned malicious as he closed his fist, causing his energy to concentrate around the much smaller, almost insignificant amount surrounding the lock. As his fist tightened and closed all the way, he could feel the energy around the lock shuddering and crackling. He clenched his fist tighter and a loud crack resounded through the room.

The tall redhead looked down in shock and saw the lock splintered just below his hand.

"I-I did it?" A bight smile lit the youths face and he punched a fist in the air. "I did it! I DID IT! Riku!" He stood and rushed over to the unconscious man. The excited young man launched himself onto his friend and shook his shoulders, trying to force the man to regain consciousness.

"Riku! I did it! Now all we have to do is open it, which after what we just did should be a piece of cake, and then you can read it and we can come that much closer! Riku? Riku!? Damnit, Riku, are you even listening to me!" Axel sat back on the silver haired teens stomach and pouted down at him. The man was still out cold. 'Huh, I guess he worked a little too hard.'

Still sitting on his friend's stomach, he glanced over at the black book, its cover now littered with metal shards from the imploded lock.

"Well," he addressed the book; "I suppose I could open you so Mr. Sleeping Beauty here can start reading you when he finally wakes up."

Axel nimbly leapt from his perch and strode to the book, crouching down beside it. He figured he that although he was tired he had enough energy to open the book. Once again, he stretched his arm out over the book and concentrated all his energy into his arm, feeling it well up inside him and coagulate into the ribbons of power pulsing beneath his hand, he lowered his arm and felt his own energy crash into that of the book and he latched onto that tiny handhold. The redhead furrowed his short brows and waved his hand, flinging back the cover of the book and collapsed onto his back, panting slightly.

He squeezed his eyes shut and before heaving himself to his feet.. His poison green eyes shot open when he saw the pages of the book.

"R-R-Riku?" he called, his voice shaking slightly in panic. "Riku!" He scurried backwards and shot to his friend's still limp body, shaking his shoulder vigorously. "Damnit Riku, WAKE UP!"

Finally, Riku grunted and shifted, shaking his head lightly before turning to face a clearly shaken Axel.

"What on earth do you want? Do you know how tired I am? How much energy I used up! You're lucky I didn't fade into a shade." He shrugged Axel's hands off him and sank back down onto couch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep."

Still shaken from what he had seen, Axel grabbed the front of his friend's hoodie and pulled him up and close to his terror frozen face.

"I don't care if you are tired! This is serious! Th-th-that book! There is something seriously wrong with it! There is a _reason _that, that _thing_ was locked up."

"What are you talking about?" Riku inquired, gently unfurling his friend's hands from his sweatshirt. "What happened?"

Axel pointed shakily at the book laying open on the coffee table. Just go look at it." He shook his head defiantly and looked at his knees. "I don't think we should have anything to do with it."

Riku raised an eyebrow. 'I wonder what could have made him think that. We worked so hard to be able to read that and now he just wants to give up?!'

Curious but doubtful, Riku stood from his seat and strode in all confidence to the book on the far side of the table. However, the moment he was above the dark book, his body went rigid. His silver eyebrows shot into his hairline before coming together into a furrowed mess and his mouth set into a firm line. His minds newly sharpened sense of perception had taken in a terrible sight.

The pages were just as inky black as the dark leather cover of the book, swirling like a vortex. The words were written in an old script and a deep, glistening red that looked like thick, pure blood that had yet to dry and congeal. The script undulated and writhed on the page looking as sinister as Hell itself. A dark, liquid silver boarder flowed around the edge of each page, tauntingly beautiful.

Axel shrank back behind his friend, fear clearly etched into his bright, toxic eyes.

"That thing looks evil, Ri. I think we should put it back. The lock was doing more than just keeping it locked up; it was keeping whatever is in it locked away."

Riku regarded the book carefully, unsure of his next move. "Nonetheless, maybe we should still use it. We are battling evil, so why not try and learn as much as we can about it. The answer may be in this book."

Slowly, cautiously, the still frowning silverette reached out his hand, not even bothering to call his energy to it, ignoring his companion's cry of, "What do you think you are doing?! Are you insane or just trying to get turned into a shade?"

As Riku's hand edged toward the book, he felt a tingle run up his arm, the small tingle quickly turning into a stinging sensation and just when his pale hand was an inch away from the now hissing book, a trail of black electric energy shot up from the open pages and struck his outstretched hand, crackling up his arm to his chest.

He cried out first in shock and then in pure agony as the black energy coursed through his chest. He jerked his arm away from the book and stumbled back, falling into Axel's chest, where the redhead wrapped his arms around his struggling friend. The young mans brow was furrowed and his body was writhing in immeasurable pain.

Axel could do nothing but stare on in a state of shock. His friends face was a mask of unwavering agony. Axel ran his long fingers through Riku's silky silver locks, a gesture that had always calmed him down in life.

Sure enough, the tremors slowly faded as the residual energy fled the ghost's body. Axel continued his ministrations until Riku's labored, uneven breathing leveled and his body relaxed; every fiber of his being exhausted from his ordeal.

"Riku?" Axel leaned his head over the shorter man's shoulder and he lowered them both to a sitting position, allowing the silverette to lean back into his strong chest. "You alright?"

"Of course I'm not alright," Riku mumbled tiredly, leaning his head back so he was facing the redhead. "But I'm not as bad as I was." He sighed and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"What do you suppose that was?" Axel asked, returning to threading his fingers through his friend's hair, simply for something to do.

"My guess would be that the lock was created by the witch that lived here to bind whatever power was in that book. It has more power than we thought; I can feel it when I let my energy out just a little bit.

"There is no doubt in my mind that there is dark magic and knowledge in that book and there is no way that we can access that knowledge in out present state, at least as far as I know."

Axel leaned back on is hands, Riku following him. "I wonder if Zexion would be able to use it, or at least make it so we could handle the book."

Riku looked thoughtful for a moment before voicing his own musings.

"He may, but I'm guessing it would take a very powerful Wicca or warlock to use that book. Seeing as I was attacked by it without manifesting any part of my body and due to the fact that you fell through it because you didn't manifest any part of your being, I can only assume that it resides in both the spirit and the physical realms. There are very few people who can even see the spirit realm and even fewer who can manipulate it, and even fewer still are those who have found a way to exist equally."

Axel tilted his head, seemingly lost in thought, before he spoke, his words coming slow and cautious. "Well you said yourself that Zexion was a very powerful Wicca. He may be able to help."

"Perhaps." Riku struggled to his feet and Axel rushed to help. The silverette swayed drunkenly on his feet for a moment, Axel waiting by his side. Riku waved a hand, wordlessly telling Axel he was all right. "We may as well read the page it's open to, just to see what we are up against. It looks like an introduction anyway."

He stumbled forward a few paces, Axel close behind, and came to rest right before the table. He peered over the open pages, feeling that tingling sensation in his arms again.

"Well," Axel said, looking over his friend's shoulder. "What's it say?"

Riku blew out an exasperated breath, and spoke to his friend over his shoulder. "The text is moving as you may remember and very hard to read. Would you kindly shut the hell up and let me read?"

Axel just smiled at his friend's words, pleased that Riku seemed to be back to normal. "By all means."

"Why thank you," the silverette replied dryly. He turned his attention back to the book, his minds eye drinking in every detail. "It says: Par nuit la plus sombre et plus noire journée, saut d'ombres et de feu rugit, cris de crier royaume lointain, déchirant les esprits. Quand la mort nous devenir des porteurs, et lèche feu noir de nos âmes, une âme qu'il en coûte, mutilés et brûlés, pour purger nos terres et de l'erreur enfer remède. C'est la réponse que vous trouverez un bref ici, donc continuer à lire, plus noir des yeux et des cœurs les plus vides, continuez à lire et à apprendre."

Axel stared blankly at his friend before nudging him in the side. "And in English that mean…?"

Riku chuckled darkly. "You sure you wanna hear it? It's not really all that pleasant."

"I'm gonna hear it sooner or later so why not just hear it now and get used to it." The redhead shrugged. "Besides, this day has already had untold amounts of bad luck, a bit more bad news couldn't hurt."

Riku sighed and turned to face his friend. "It means: through darkest night and blackest day, shadows leap and fire roars, and shrieks cry out from distant realm, tearing at out minds,. When death heralds us, and black fire licks our souls, one soul it costs, mutilated and burned, to purge our lands and remedy hell's mistake. That answer you shall find writ here, so read on, blackest of eyes and emptiest of hearts, read on and learn."

Axel let out low whistle. "Well, that's certainly deep. And dark. Do you really think Zexion will want to get involved with something like this? It sounds almost like you have to 'sell your soul,' so to speak, to do these spells."

Riku shrugged and stared sidelong at his friend. "We'll never know until we ask."

Axel blew out a noisy breath and stalked over to the couch, throwing himself on it and flinging a transparent arm across his eyes, groaning into the air.

"We are in way over our heads."

Riku looked at the ground, a frown pasted on his face and his mouth formed a rigid, grim line. Almost a full minute later, he looked up and stared out the window.

"Well, let's do something about that then." He grabbed his friend's arm and hauled him to his feet. "Look, it's almost dusk. Let's meditate again so we're ready when the team shows up again. We have to do whatever we can to prepare for whatever is in the book."

Axel stared at his friend, his green eyes dull. He stared at his feet before nodding slowly. "Alright," he sighed. He slouched over to the center of the room and plopped onto the floor, crossing his legs and letting his arms rest on them, upturned.

For the first time that night, Riku let a small smile dance across his lips as he sat beside his friend, nudging him playfully in the shoulder with his own. Axel popped one eye open and smirked lightly at his friend before closing his eyes, returning to his exercise.

They weren't winning the war yet, but they certainly weren't beat.

* * *

**end note: yes i do realize this whole chapter had to do with only the ghosts and was mostly filler. but there are some very important things in here so keep your eyes peeled! **

**as always, please tell me what you thought and where you think i need to improve. im always open to critique and suggestions. you can even tell me the chapter sucked and i wont mind.... well i may go insane re-writing it but i wont get angry. Review please! if only to keep an authoress alive! FLAMES ARE WELCOME! **

**i will try to update as soon a possible. hopefully within the next month or so. but dont hold me to it. senioritis (a disease common among high school seniors where they dont want to do their work and only want to laze around) has caught me and im just not as motivated as i used to be. MOTIVATE ME WITH REVIEWS!!! **


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